The Milwaukee Bucks’ new fifth-man Malik Beasley has been making a name for himself since joining the squad.
Starting alongside names like Brook Lopez, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, and Khris Middleton, Beasley wanted to stand out a little more.
Beasley is the Milwaukee Bucks’ New Jrue Holiday
“I tell them, I’m the new Jrue Holiday.” Beasley said per Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
In just eight games this season, Beasley is averaging 9.3 points per game, four rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.9 fouls. While these aren’t eye-opening numbers, it’s a new mode of defense that Beasley hasn’t shown on other teams before, but with a Bucks team who has a strong defense and recently lost one of their top defenders in Jrue Holiday, he wants to make sure he fits right in.
A jumper performed by Beasley with five minutes left of play, cut the Pistons’ lead down to five in an ultimate Bucks win, and this was without Middleton and Antetokounmpo, who was ejected after his second technical foul of the night. Beasley said that while it won’t be a “home run play”, you have to “keep chipping away at their defense.”
While one of his defensive moves hindered the Bucks in their loss against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, Malik Beasley brings a lot to the team and has said he’s open to finding new ways to make himself useful and valuable to the team.
“Usually I’m one of the offensive guys, but we got four those guys,” Beasley said. “So I just learn how to be physical. It’s a mindset. So then I start off being physical, too. If you notice, I start the game usually with one or two fouls to set the tone so that in the third or fourth quarter I can get away with it.”
Head coach Adrian Griffin has said before that Beasley will likely be the one taking the tough assignments on the court every game that he’s playing, and Beasley said he’s okay with that. He likes to let everyone know that he’s going to be a top defender.
“Just let ’em know, because they’re not used to that, to me guarding the best player every single night.”
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