Should the Milwaukee Bucks start Grayson Allen or Malik Beasley?
Should the Milwaukee Bucks start Grayson Allen or Malik Beasley?
The case for Malik Beasley starting: When it comes to inserting Malik Beasley into the Milwaukee Bucks’ starting lineup, the idea seems a bit more foreign with his unfamiliarity with the group.
He’s started in fewer games than Allen has in his career (Allen has started 171 career games compared to Beasley’s 114 career starts) and has bounced around the league the last few years. He’s also coming off a poor playoff performance with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he averaged three points per game on 26.98 percent shooting from three, playing just one minute in the Western Conference Finals. With all of that being said, we could see Beasley leap-frogging over Allen for that fifth and final starting spot with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Beasley has shown that, when given the opportunity, he’s able to rise to the occasion. In the 2020-2021 season, he was putting up career numbers with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Through 37 games he played in that year, he started in 36 while averaging 19.6 points per game on 39.9-percent shooting from three and 44 percent shooting from the floor. His season was overshadowed by the 12-game suspension he was handed for pleading guilty in September 2020 in regard to a violent altercation.
Despite the off-the-court issues he’s had, he’s exhibited an ability to play at a very high level in the role of a starter. He also possesses a similar attribute that Allen has, being able to shoot the three. Over the course of his career, he’s hovered between 35-40 percent from three, which is a welcomed mark for a Milwaukee Bucks team that is always emphasizing players that are elite catch-and-shoot threats.
He also owns one of the top catch-and-shoot percentages in all of the NBA over the last few years. In 2022-2023, he averaged six 3-pointers attempted per game, which was third in the league at 35.7 percent. The year prior, he found himself second in the league in the same stat, shooting it at 38 percent. With Giannis, Jrue, and Khris all attracting tons of attention from opposing defenses, Beasley’s efficient and high-volume shooting numbers will boost the Milwaukee Bucks’ offense overall.
Similar to Allen, he has also been a liability on the defensive end, with a 115.1 defensive rating for his career. That will, without question, have to increase with Coach Griffin’s defensive strategy, but with his high-level scoring, it could force the new coach’s hand in going against his strategy.