Milwaukee Bucks 2016-17 Season Review: Michael Beasley

The Best of Beasley

Michael Beasley is at his best when his role in the offense is uncomplicated. Beasley’s got one real skill at the NBA level–he gets buckets. After players who can just go out and cook became less valued due to the league-wide emphasis on pace and space, Beasley and players like him actually became undervalued.

While it’s true making Beasley a full-time starter who holds the ball forever would be bad for Milwaukee’s offense, small doses of Beasley against bench players often resulted in big-time scoring runs for the Bucks.

Just as Greg Monroe became a completely different, and more impactful, player because of the way Jason Kidd used him, Beasley became a weapon instead of an inefficient player. He shot the ball well from three in addition to his bucket-getting from closer, as Beas shot 53.2 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from deep.

Again, just as Moose’s numbers are more accurately shown by his per 36 statistics, Beasley’s per 36 stats give a better idea of how much of an impact he had in a limited role. Beas averaged 20.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per 36 minutes with Milwaukee this season.

His frame and athleticism means Beasley, when he’s healthy, has the ability to be disruptive on both ends. Teams had to deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Jabari Parker and Greg Monroe–and then Beasley came in to make sure defenses would still have some freakish athlete to worry about. That alone held value for the Bucks.