NBA Lord's NBA Blog

NBA Lord's NBA Blog

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Saturday Slam: Michael Beasley has the New York Knicks in playoff contention

                                          (Credit: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) 

At the moment, the New York Knicks (17-15) have the #8 spot in the Eastern Conference and Michael Beasley deserves a fair amount of credit for having them in this position. During the last 6 games, he's averaged 19.83 points per game resulting in 4 wins for the Knicks. In two of those games, he scored 30+ points.

Beasley is a bit of a controversial player due to some off the court issues that he's had, but there's never been any question of as to whether he's talented or not. He's got a ton of talent. It's just a matter of him channeling his talent in the right way and not getting into trouble off the court.

So far this season, he's been a good citizen and is sticking to what he does best, which is getting buckets. The Knicks have been in desperate need of someone who can take some of the scoring pressure off of Kristaps Porzingis, which is what makes Beasley such a welcomed addition on their team. When you have a second guy on the floor who has the potential to go off for 30 points, things suddenly become a lot easier for Porzingis to play his game and not worry about getting double teamed.

The biggest question right now is whether or not Beasley can keep this up and if the Knicks can continue to make this push for a playoff spot. Personally, I really don't see why not. I was already optimistic about Beasley being a good fit for the Knicks when he initially signed and now that he's producing like this, my optimism is being validated.

It should be noted that Beasley isn't the only one stepping up for this Knicks team. Jarrett Jack has been another pleasant surprise, frequently scoring in double figures and doing a good job at running the offense. Enes Kanter has also been a really good fit alongside Porzingis down low, averaging 13.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.

While the post-Carmelo era is still in its infancy, Knicks fans have to like what they're seeing from their team. They have a legitimate franchise player in Kristaps Porzingis and have some quality pieces around him that have them vying for a playoff spot. It'll be interesting to see how this team does as we head into January and the latter half of the season.

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