As one of the more pleasant surprises so far this season in the NBA, New York Knicks forward Michael Beasley has garnered some attention for the Sixth Man of the Year award. However, there are still people who say that the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft deserves a starting spot on the Knicks for his improved play.
According to a tweet from earlier this afternoon from Marc Berman of the New York Post, Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek gave a brief explanation as to why Beasley is not starting at forward in his lineup over Lance Thomas.
“The whole premise of this season is trying to get after it defensively and establish ourselves in that regard. He’s our best defender,” coach Hornacek said of Thomas.
In 32 games (six starts) for the Knicks so far this season, Beasley is currently averaging 11.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in just 18.5 minutes of action per contest. Beasley praised coach Hornacek for him being able to score like he does despite his limited minutes, per an article by Berman.
“I’m not really iso’ed in spots where you can double-team — middle of the free-throw line, on the block, in the corner,” Beasley said. “Coach is doing a great job of putting me in positions where teams find it hard to double.”
The Knicks, who are scheduled to take on Beasley's former team in the Miami Heat tonight at AmericanAirlines Arena, have lost two games in a row and seven of their last nine contests. Beasley recently opened up about Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, noting that he the coach didn't believe in him enough during his three separate stints in Miami.
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