It’s hard to fully quantify what Malik Beasley has meant to the Detroit Pistons this season.
You can look at his 3-point numbers (42.1% on 9.5 attempts per game) and his scoring off the bench, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
Beasley has been a team leader throug his work ethic, and he’s added some life and charisma to a team that needed it after going through some historically bad years.
We knew Beasley could shoot, but no one saw this coming when he signed a modest one-year deal to join the Pistons last summer.
He’s currently 2nd in the NBA in 3-pointers made and should be the frontrunner for the 6th Man of the Year award.
He’s been a huge part of the Pistons’ renaissance and the team is now on the verge of the postseason with 19 to play.
Most fans thought the play-in was a longshot coming into the season and now we are talking playoffs, so this year has been a resounding success no matter what happens in the postseason.
And you know Malik Beasley will have something to prove if they do get to the playoffs.
Malik Beasley’s playoff stats
Beasley has been one of the best high-volume 3-point shooters in the league for some time, with a career average of 39 percent on over six attempts per game.
He’s easily exceeded those numbers this season, and given that he’s coming off the bench, it’s even more impressive.
But Beasley has struggled in the playoffs in his career over 37 games with the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Lakers and Bucks.
In his playoff career, Beasley has averaged 6.8 points and 2.5 rebounds on 40 percent shooting from the floor and just 36 percent from long range, all well below his career averages.
Playoff numbers can be cruel and misleading, as the sample size isn’t big, especially if you are a role player who is not top-3 option on offense, which Beasley has been for most of his playoff career.
He did shoot the ball well in last year’s playoffs, but eventually saw his minutes limited when the Bucks wanted to get a better defender on the floor against Indiana, who was targeting him.
The good news is that Beasley has been on a tear all season and has settled into a bench role with the Pistons for which he is well suited. He just comes in gunning and with guys like Ron Holland, Ausar Thompson and Isaiah Stewart on the floor with him, his defense isn’t as big an issue.
Beasley has been noticeably better on defense this year anyway. He’s not an elite defender, but he does give effort and occasionally gets the Pistons a savvy steal if the other team drops their guard.
Making the playoffs is the priority right now, so the Pistons will jump these hurdles as they come, but it will be interesting to see if Beasley’s season can carry over to the playoffs (pending), as he has a chance to be a huge X-factor for Detroit.