NBA Playoffs: 10 sleeper players to watch in Round 1

Michael Beasley

This inclusion is mainly here for a little gun-slinging fun.

Are the Rockets going to defeat the Warriors in the first round? Absolutely not. It’s laughable to even entertain the thought when considering how much of a mess Houston has been this season after making the Western Conference Finals a year ago. Unless James Harden is enough to take over a game or two by himself and steal a win, a 4-0 sweep looks pretty likely for the Warriors.

However, there is one player who could provide some entertainment for the Rockets and be a surprising offensive x-factor for them off the bench.

Micheal Beasley has gone largely unnoticed since arriving in Houston at the start of March, taking on 18.2 minutes a night and playing to prove that he belongs in the NBA instead of China. And even though his incredibly trigger-happy approach may split opinion, he’s been a highly productive scorer no matter how you look at it, helping the Rockets into the playoffs because of it.

Using an excellent mid-range game, shooting 44.7 percent from 16-24 feet and 45.5 percent from 10-16 feet, and driving to the basket, Beasley has averaged a ridiculous 25.3 points per 36 minutes. On top of that, he’s averaged 9.7 rebounds in the same time span and recorded a PER of 22.5.

Not too bad after being in China a couple of months ago, right?

Of course, Beasley won’t be winning a game for the Rockets. But if we at least see the Warriors cool down and the Rockets heat up to provide some entertaining runs, Beasley can be a sleeper if you want someone to surprise you with 20+ scoring nights.

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