Following his LA Clippers' debut, in the preseason finale, fans got to see Bradley Beal get his buckets in ways off the ball. His ultimate focus was to use his legs to sprint across the court, creating space, and then get to work as he always has.
However, Beal was using off-ball screens from Ivica Zubac, and in a recent interview, the three-time All-Star made the comparison to Jusuf Nurkic and Marcin Gortat as the last two players he has played with who have been able to effectively set him up.
Asked Bradley Beal about two-man offense with Ivica Zubac that was seen Friday night in Golden State
— Law Murray 🎃 (@LawMurrayTheNU) October 20, 2025
Beal said that other than working with Jusuf Nurkic in Phoenix, he hasn't had a screener like Zu since playing with Marcin Gortat in the 2010s pic.twitter.com/541lTDfa0q
Nurkic was there for the Phoenix Suns last season, but when speaking of Gortat, it has been years since Beal shared the court with him. This implies that Zubac will have a significant impact on Beal's aspirations this season of shredding the scoring expectations.
Ivica Zubac will help the LA Clippers receive the player Bradley Beal was for the Washington Wizards
Bradley Beal will not rely on Ivica Zubac to help him generate space, as he has been doing crossovers and other various moves for years, but the big man's size and strength in the screen game will create enough room for an attempt right off the catch, or a few dribbles into the midrange for an even easier bucket.
The perfect example is Beal's first basket as an LA Clipper in the preseason. Before the game announcer chanted his name after scoring, the veteran guard used a screen from Zubac to sprint to the corner to lose the defender, then re-routed to another screen from the Croatian star seconds later, which helped him get to the elbow for an easy two.
Beal showcased many more examples throughout his debut, but this is exactly what he is referring to when mentioning the high-quality screens set by Zubac, and how this is an aspect he has been without since his days with Marcin Gortat as a Washington Wizard, with the exception of Jusuf Nurkic.
Thus, Beal's scoring averages this season may surprise fans. The hope is that he will get close to 20 points per game, but he may exceed, even if countless guys on the Clippers roster have mastered the skill of putting the ball in the hoop.
That said, Beal will dominate this season, and Zubac will assist him in several ways off the ball, making it easy for him to score, just like old times when he was a member of the Wizards.