Michael Beasley has been a revelation this season. The New York Knicks forward has been up and down, but keeps things interesting.
In honor of the 30pt night. #tbt ? pic.twitter.com/VrnggG7Bk1
— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) December 17, 2017
That video is Michael Beasley for you. There is almost no rhyme or reason to what he’s saying or doing, but it seems to work. He disarms you with his “explanation” of how people only use ten percent of their brain. I have no idea what he’s trying to say and yet I can’t help but laugh.
That’s kind of how he is on the court. Sometimes you have no idea what he is trying to do before he makes an incredible move to blow by his defender. If nothing else, he is exciting to watch.
Before the season started, I wondered what would need to happen for Michael Beasley to bring home the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award. He most definitely has the talent to win the award, but we’re far enough into the season to accurately predict that he won’t be bringing home any hardware.
It’s true. I thought there was an outside chance that Beasley could have one of his best seasons yet in New York. The problem so far this year, has been the major inconsistency in Beasley’s game.
He’s had some bad nights so far this season and early on his play was too erratic to warrant many minutes. So far this season, Beasley has gotten a DNP six times and played fewer than ten minutes five times.
The good news is that he is playing much better of late and Knicks Coach Jeff Hornacek is rewarding him for it. Beasley has played in the Knicks last 11 games and played more than 10 minutes in all of those games except one. Oddly enough, that game was a Knicks win against the Atlanta Hawks where Beasley only managed to score one point. Still, he racked up six fouls in nine minutes of play. And he somehow finished the game with a +11 rating. Nothing he does makes sense.
Saturday night Beasley spoiled Carmelo Anthony’s return to Madison Square Garden by lighting the Thunder up for 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting. Both Kristaps Porzingis (sore knee) and Tim Hardaway, Jr. (stress leg injury) were out, but that didn’t matter. The game ended up being the Michael Beasley show.
Again, nothing he does makes sense.
.@Michael8easley with the ✋ pic.twitter.com/7aCXsLdrhB
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 17, 2017
He has always had the ability to put the ball in the basket. The Kansas State product has scored 30 points twice this season and Kristaps Porzingis missed both of these games due to injury. It’s nice to have a proven scorer step in when the team desperately needs someone who can create his own shot.
Despite the games where Beasley has put up 30 points, he may have been at his best down the stretch of the Knicks overtime thriller against the Lakers. This was the first time he really saw crunch time minutes and he came up with some big buckets to help secure the victory. More importantly, Beasley was playing alongside Porzingis and showed that he can be trusted to play important minutes late in games.
With Hardaway and Porzingis banged up, expect to see a lot more of Beasley in the short-term. You really never know what to expect with him, but for now, that doesn’t sound all that bad.
