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25. Bradley Beal, SG, Washington Wizards

Age: 24

2017-18 Per-Game Stats: 22.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.4 blocks

Advanced Metrics: 18.4 PER, 1.74 RPM, 101.85 TPA

Is Bradley Beal officially an offensive lifeline? That remains the big-money question. It also remains tough to answer, since he's spent his entire career beside John Wall.

Washington floated a top-12 offense during its point guard's time on the shelf with a knee injury. Beal was a part of that. Sort of. The Wizards scored more points per 100 possessions when he was off the floor, and they're fielding an average offense for the season during Beal's solo stints.

Plenty of hullabaloo is baked into these returns. Washington's backups still aren't the deepest gaggle, and Beal, much like Wall, indulges in too many slipshod two-point attempts. Plus, he isn't eclipsing 20 points on respectable efficiency and registering a career-high assist rate by accident. He's an offensive force, with or without Wall—one that tends to pep up during postseason play.

24. Otto Porter Jr., SF, Washington Wizards

Age: 24

2017-18 Per-Game Stats: 14.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.5 blocks

Advanced Metrics: 18.3 PER, 5.23 RPM, 176.2 TPA

Otto Porter Jr.? In front of Beal? Controversy!

Except, not really.

Porter is the nice middle ground between Beal and Wall—that universal-fit combo wing every team with meaningful postseason aspirations needs in its rotation. As ESPN.com's Zach Lowe waxed:

"He's shooting 52 on long 2-pointers. Pressure that shot, and Porter scoots in for a teardrop; he's shooting 41 percent from floater range, a tidy mark, per Cleaning The Glass.

"He runs the floor. He cuts behind defenses. He has just enough post-up game to punish teams who hide little guys on him. Failing that, Porter might bum-rush inside for offensive rebounds. He can credibly defend four positions, even if he's not quite as airtight on that end as he looks like he should be."

Plug-and-play studmuffins invariably smash into glass ceilings. Porter is an off-ball whiz and snowballing defensive switcher, but he lacks curb appeal. The Wizards don't task him with square-one shot creation or regular lone-wolf duty.

Porter has seen just over 100 minutes without Beal, Wall or Tomas Satoransky—which, given how much time Wall missed during the regular season, says something. Washington is a plus-11 in that time, but the teensy-weensy sample is more telltale than the differential. Porter has that "I can only take a team so far, if anywhere at all, on my own" vibe.

Hold that against him at your own risk. NBA Math's TPA rated him as the Wizards' second-most valuable player last year and their most impactful contributor this season. That latter first-place finish wouldn't stand with a healthy Wall, but Porter has excelled long enough at fitting in on both sides of the court to squeak past Beal.

23. John Wall, PG, Washington Wizards

Age: 27

2017-18 Per-Game Stats: 19.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 9.6 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.1 blocks

Advanced Metrics: 19.1 PER, 0.56 RPM, 45.4 TPA

You might say the Wizards' three most important players are listed so close together on purpose, as if to highlight how close they are to one another.

Because that's exactly what is happening.

Wall is a force of nature, and he remains integral to maximizing the offensive values of everyone in Washington—including Beal's and Porter's. Sticking him outside the top 20, even with his left knee injury in mind, comes across as too low.

But his shot profile has devolved this season. A smaller share of his looks are coming at the rim, and he's taking more long twos, on which he's shooting under 30 percent. His crunch-time exploits are concerning as well. Washington is getting blitzed by more than nine points per 100 possessions in clutch situations, and he has the fifth-worst true shooting percentage among every player with a usage rate of 25 or higher. (Beal, for the record, owns the third-worst.)

Wall can, and might, and probably will, improve as he gets more post-recovery games under his belt. Until then, he stays outside the top 20.

22. Victor Oladipo, SG, Indiana Pacers

Age: 25

2017-18 Per-Game Stats: 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.4 steals, 0.8 blocks

Advanced Metrics: 23.1 PER, 5.54 RPM, 250.09 TPA

"All the Rookie of the Year back and forth is funny," Spencer Dinwiddie tweeted on the regular-season's final day. "I guess everybody just mailed Oladipo Most Improved Player huh? Lol."

Ya think?

Dinwiddie deserves an honorable mention for his Most Improved Player candidacy. He staked his claim as a top-10 point guard for half the season. But Victor Oladipo made the jump from overpaid disappointment to All-NBA prospect.

Never mind that he cooled off for a minute after the All-Star break. He led the Pacers within hugging distance of 50 wins in their first season without Paul George. Oh! He also relegated his cold streak to a fleeting memento by year's end, averaging 22.3 points, 5.9 assists and 3.4 steals(!) over his final seven appearances on 60.2 percent shooting (46.9 percent from three).

Nothing epitomizes Oladipo's jet-pack climb through the player ranks quite like comparing this year's catch-all metrics to last season's numbers. His average rank in TPA, RPM, PER and Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) was 198th for 2016-17.

For 2017-18? It's 12th.

21. LaMarcus Aldridge, PF/C, San Antonio Spurs

Age: 32

2017-18 Per-Game Stats: 23.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.2 blocks

Advanced Metrics: 25.0 PER, 3.38 RPM, 163.87 TPA

Leaving LaMarcus Aldridge outside the top 20 wounds our souls more than you could imagine. He has carried the Kawhi Leonard-less Spurs. In many ways, for the time being, he is their Leonard—an offensive be-all.

San Antonio is piling on 107.8 points per 100 possessions through the 2,500-plus minutes he's logged. That offensive rating belly-flops its way down to 101.8 with him on the bench.

Aldridge, then, represents the difference between the Spurs scoring like the Bucks and the 22-win Memphis Grizzlies—about as redonkulous as his averaging a personal-best 24.9 points per 36 minutes on career-best efficiency 12 seasons into his career.