Although the Minnesota Timberwolves have shot out to a 3-1 record, on the back of stellar offensive and defensive production, one of the team’s core scorers continues to struggle. Malik Beasley is arguably the Timberwolves’ best shooter, capable of going nuclear from beyond the arc on a nightly basis. Yet, since his return to the team during training camp, he’s struggled to find both his range and his rhythm.
In the teams’ impressive win over the Milwaukee Bucks, Beasley shot just 33.3% from the field, with all of his attempts being from beyond the arc. Shockingly, his performance last night was better than what we’ve seen at this early juncture, with the Atlanta native currently averaging just 22.2% from deep on 4.5 attempts per game per Basketball-Reference.
As the team has been playing so well, with others on the roster stepping up to fill the void, Beasley has the opportunity to re-discover his shooting touch slowly, away from the media scrutiny. But you can’t help but ask yourself just how good this TImberwolves roster will be when they finally get their volume shooting sniper back to full game fitness!
However, despite being at the very early stages of the season, Beasley’s points production has been way off the pace we’re used to seeing from him, with just 6.5 points per game on average. Perhaps it’s adjusting to the new offensive scheme that’s slowing him down, or that both D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards have both taken a jump in their development over the off-season and now demand more touches. Still, the bench unit needs Beasley at his best sooner or later.
The Timberwolves are playing like a playoff-level team at the moment, and while sustainability will indeed become a talking point in the months to come, having a certified bucket off the bench is integral to their season’s hopes.
I wrote about Beasley’s struggles scoring the ball during the pre-season. While I never expected there to be a sharp uptick in the immediate future, banking on incremental improvements didn’t seem to be much of a reach. Yet, here we are, some three weeks removed from that original article and no sign of the rust coming off. It’s still far too early to hit the panic button, mainly when the team is surviving without his production. Still, when Beasley begins to find his range again, the Timberwolves will have a much-needed floor spacer off the bench who can help carry the load with the second unit.