There were more than a few takeaways from the Milwaukee Bucks’ unexpected blowout loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. Giannis Antetokounmpo was his usually dominant self, Damian Lillard had another disappointing outing, and Malik Beasley furthered his case as the team’s fifth starter.
Let’s not overlook MarJon Beauchamp, though.
Milwaukee Bucks Stud MarJon Beauchamp Plays Big Role Vs. Thunder
Beauchamp did not have a mind-blowing performance in this one. In fact, he put in more noteworthy efforts in Milwaukee’s previous preseason contests. On Tuesday against the Thunder, Beauchamp finished with just three points on 1-of-5 shooting, to go along with one triple, three rebounds, two assists, and three turnovers in 17 minutes off the bench.
What he did for the team, however, went way beyond the box score.
New head coach Adrian Griffin already indicated previously that Malik Beasley is going to be expected to take on the role of being the primary defender against opposing wing players. This was the case on Tuesday as Beasley clamped down on Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
When Beasley was called to the bench, it was Beauchamp who had to take on the unenviable role of trying to prevent another offensive explosion from SGA. Beauchamp did just that.
“I just tried to contain him,” Beauchamp said after the game. “We tried to make him go right because the coaches said we wanted to strong him and that’s what I tried to do. On the step-backs I know he likes to pump fake and try to draw the foul and I tried to stay down and just contain him with my length and I think it bothered him a little bit when I was first on him. Yeah, I just tried to stay solid. Those are big assignments. He’s an all-star. So, that was just great and fun to be able to bother him a little bit.”
Shai finished with 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting in what turned out to be a forgettable performance from the 25-year-old guard. You can’t credit this entirely to Beauchamp (or Beasley), but there’s no denying that the Bucks’ incoming second-year forward played a key role in Gilgeous-Alexander’s struggles on the evening.
Beauchamp is expected to take a massive step in his sophomore year, and it appears that Griffin is going to give him ample chances to do so.
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