Malik Beasley is proving that he may have been the most underrated pickup among all players moved before the NBA’s recent trade deadline.
Beasley has played four games for the Lakers since he was traded from the Jazz, and his team has won three of those matches. He had his best game yet during his first game back after the NBA All-Star Game.
The 26-year-old wing finished with 25 points while connecting on seven of his 3-pointers. Beasley was the overall leading scorer in a game that featured LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and D’Angelo Russell as well as Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson.
Darvin Ham encouraging Malik Beasley to let it fly 👏🎯
He's got 25 PTS and 7 threes tonight pic.twitter.com/ZFP9SyM33O
— NBA (@NBA) February 24, 2023
Beasley (9-16 FG, 7-11 3P) was caught on camera speaking to his new head coach, Darvin Ham. He apologized for one of the shots he took that didn’t go in, but Ham was quick to correct him.
“Nah, dude. That’s what you here for. What you talking about, my fault? That’s what you here for, fam. You gotta get em up. Don’t turn down nothing but your collar.”
That is great advice from the rookie head coach, who must be pleasantly surprised with the addition of his new floor spacer.
After the game, Beasley was asked to explain how it felt to hear that type of encouragement from Ham:
“It definitely feels good. I try to play the right way every time. So when I came down and shot it and it hit the side of the backboard, I was like oh man. I gotta get it back. But coach is a great coach. He wants me to shoot the ball every time … Just gotta keep pushing.”
Beasley already ranks fourth-best on the team in raw plus-minus (31), trailing only James, Davis, and Austin Reaves.
If the Lakers are going to get into the play-in tournament and have any success, they need a confident Beasley knocking down shots from beyond the arc.
Beasley says that the goal for this team is to win the championship.
