NBA Week 22 Rewind: 73 wins looks likely for Warriors now
By Tom West
Under-the-radar Players to Watch Next Week
Michael Beasley has arrived from China and is doing exactly what you’d expect a player who wants to stay put in the NBA to do: putting up a ton of shots to make a ton of buckets. He dominated overseas after a turbulent spell with multiple teams in the states, hoping to reshape his future with the Houston Rockets. And so far, thanks to his persistence to stuff the stat sheet, it’s really working.
Beasley has a tremendous usage percentage of 31.1 in Houston, falling just 0.6 behind superstar playmaker and triple-double machine Russell Westbrook. He’s using every touch to do what he does best, shooting well from mid-range so far (46.9 percent from 16-24 feet and 52.6 percent from 10-16 feet), driving to the basket, and creating inside with his agile and versatile 6’9″ frame.
His per 36 minute averages tell you all you need to know. 27.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, one block and 55.7 percent shooting — those look like All-Star caliber numbers and Beasley isn’t stopping. With the approach to do as much as possible whenever he’s on the floor, he’s become a valuable contributor to a Rockets team in need of all the help they can get to look like a worthy playoff team.
Linsanity showed up for one night and took Charlotte by storm against the historically great team who had beaten the Warriors just two days earlier. After the Hornets went down by 23 points in the second quarter following their measly 7-point first quarter (the lowest total for a team this entire season), they completed the second largest comeback in franchise history as they gradually swept away the deficit in the second half. And at the forefront of the startling charge to victory was none other than Jeremy Lin.
He got the comeback underway with 10 points in the second quarter alone and kept firing as the game continued, picking his three-pointers wisely, finishing strong on drives to the rim, and finding his stroke on some tough, off-balance jumpers in the final minutes. With his total of 29 points, he was the driving force in handing the Spurs their biggest blown lead in a loss since the glorious Tim Duncan era in 1997.
After such an exciting night for the both Hornets fans or anyone rooting for some thrilling entertainment, not to mention Lin’s fans all around the world, he was at it again with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting in a win against the Nets.
Unfortunately, a glorious spell of Linsanity hit a bump in the road when he shot 2-of-11 for four points against the Pistons on Friday. Consistency has been an issue for him yet again. Although, with a few strong performances before that, maybe he can rediscover his confidence and shooting stroke to help the Hornets continue their surge up the East.
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