Honestly, apart from the lack of a three point shot (which is a pretty big negative in this offense, tbh), Beasley proves practically everything you want in a small-ball 4. Shooting, ability to play pick and roll/pop with Harden, quality rebounding, ability to create his own shot, and a pretty good effort and IQ on defense is what Beasley brings and what we need from the 4 spot in most games. He might not be the best 2nd option or one you want to have if you are trying to compete for it all, but he is the clear 2nd option on this team now. Every time he is on the floor players are looking to set him up, even Harden. I think Harden is really starting to trust Beasley to have the ball in situations, something he rarely does with other players who have been on the Rockets here and in the past, because he knows Beasley can at least get his own shot. Aside: I've been saying this a lot, but on a team with Harden, the 2nd playmaker has to be from the forward position for that player and Harden to co-exist. We've seen instances where the Rockets have placed a playmaking PG next to Harden and both times it has failed to varying degrees (Lin - honestly, not too bad since he can hit the 3 and likes to drive and Lawson - really bad). But when the 2nd playmaker is a forward, it suddenly works, examples being Parsons, Smoove and now Beasley. Of course, Beasley is more a playmaker for himself but the logic still applies. Just something I hope the Rockets/Morey/Harden realizes before trying to get another PG with the expectations of "taking the offensive load off of Harden." Ideally, the PG next to Harden needs to be a better version of Beverley aka shoots 40% from 3 and plays smart hardnose defense. A little bit of playmaking is always great but the player's game should not be very reliant on having the ball in his hands a lot. IMO, Mike Conley fits that description pretty well but his injuries this season and in the past are concerning now.
Have loved the addition of Beasley. His nose for the ball/knack for rebounding has been fantastic. His separates him from many other scoring/small ball 4's. His defensive rotations have been great too. If I had to nitpick, one area he could improve is off the pnr, when James draws both defenders and bounces it to be as in the middle. I am completely fine with him shooting a mid range j or floated or driving lay in whayever he wants. But there are a few instances where the lob to Dwight is so easy and available that he must learn to throw it.
Also, to the Beas haters who like to use +/- against him, he was +11 last night. Finally his solid play somehow reflected in that useless stat for this game. I hope he could put in some 3-4 more free throws sprinkled around his line as well. His 3 point shot will forever be streaky and is in badly need of consistency, but he is indeed capable of hitting it no doubt. Just needs some more work.
anyone else look at his game log and think "where the **** did you come from? who the hell are you? my team is desperate for help and you come outta no where." he's shooting 55% in all his games played, 13. only has 10 real games where he's in the rotation. only two of those were bad shooting games. so he would be above 55% and maybe even closer to 60%. this is the toughest stretch of the season too, so those sample size stats aren't useless.
Do we have exclusive rights to sign him this offseason? I guess the scary thing is, I liked Smith and Brewer after the playoffs last year. Beas though just looks dominant. I'd like to see Harden, Beasley, Ariza, Motie and Dwight play together. Like Ariza I think Beasley can cover anybody 1-5.
As I watched him outduel Love, I couldn't help but think of how much money he could have made this offseason were he an FA. But then again if he plays well next year he'll make even more as a 2017 FA.
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="6" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BDkAub3wMh8/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Team win! Great job #ubalrt #imonamission</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by SC8 (@michael6easley) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2016-03-30T03:49:26+00:00">Mar 29, 2016 at 8:49pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
Beasly was a gift to rocket fans by the Basketballl Gods for the **** show they've endured all year. Let's just watch Beasly and Harden make some magic in the playoffs. Hopefully Gouldlock too.
Josh Smith was awesome, but he had me on edge a lot of the time. You never knew whether he was going to be awesome or backbreaking. Beasley just seems like a guy we can count on to get buckets and play some decent defense. Feels "safer" with his production.
Only 2 issues, with Beas, rebound better and make the xtra pass as teams play him for the shot more. However, he is 10 times better than what we've gotten from JGone! His connection with D12 and Capela will help with easy buckets/dunks.
Beasley might be the one ray of sunshine we've had this season. Dude plays very well. Hell, he actually had two assists last night, I nearly s*** the couch. (As Bill Worrell once remarked when Beasley got the ball, "You know he's gonna shoot it." And he did. And made it.
If you play Dmo and Beas together down the stretch before the 2 minutes to prevent hack a d12 and Capela strategy, everyone must rebound on the defensive end... No leaking out James Harden
I love Sneezley more than anyone else, but there are a few things that make me a bit worried. He's a massive black hole on offense. Obviously he's scoring at high rate with his minutes at a good percentage, but I can't recall many times he's passed the damn ball. That could be an issue depending on how he reacts when/if he cools down (which is the other thing I'm worried about) the dude better stay hot. This could end up being very Brewer-esque.
