Michael Beasley Is Already Fitting In With Houston Rockets

By Dave Daniels

The Houston Rockets raised a lot of eyebrows when they signed Michael Beasley, but he has already started showing that this may have been a wise decision. It seemed like a strange move at the time, because the Rockets were already dealing with chemistry issues surrounding Dwight Howard and James Harden. The trade for Ty Lawson didn’t work out last summer either, and Beasley hasn’t ever really been known as someone who helped matters in the locker room.

Beasley recorded 17 points and six rebounds off the bench in his latest game, and this keyed the Rockets to a 116-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He openly wondered after the final whistle what life would’ve been like if he’d stayed with the Wolves.

He averaged 31.3 points over a six-game stretch with Minnesota during his first season with them, but then an ankle injury kept him from contributing in the same way.

“For the first three quarters we were one of the best teams in the league and dead last in the fourth,” Beasley said to the Star Tribune. “It was just us being young, just not being able to finish games. I think if we would have kept that team together, we could have been something special. We had a decent little group. It was our first year together. We were young, but it could have been…”

The Rockets have been pleased with Beasley’s performance for them so far, and it will be interesting to see if he gets bumped up to the starting lineup as the season draws to a close. If he can play the Josh Smith x-factor role for Houston in the first round, then the Rockets might be able to put another long playoff run together.

Beasley deserves a lot of credit for reviving his career in China after all of the issues that popped up during his first stint in the NBA, and it is nice to watch him have success after those struggles. It seems as though the Rockets are lucky to have him, and he might even be their second option on offense if they decide to start him down the stretch run. Houston GM Daryl Morey definitely isn’t afraid of taking risks. Trading for Lawson didn’t work out, but this latest move appears to be a success. Beasley is fitting in quite well already, and he still has time to get more acclimated.

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