Ron Artest offers some advice to Michael Beasley
Michael Beasley of the Minnesota Timberwolves has been on fire recently. Picked second overall in the 2008 NBA Draft, the 6ft 10in power forward has averaged 31.3 points over his last
six games, shooting 53 per cent from the field over that span. The run included a career-high 42 points and nine rebounds in a win over the Sacramento Kings on 10 November, and Beasley has managed at least 25 points per game over the torrid stretch.
Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers, known as one of the best one-on-one defenders in the league, had some advice for Beasley after the two teams met on 19 November.
"Beasley should watch LeBron James," Artest told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "Beasley's actually a better shooter than LeBron, but the smarts are not there. He's talking so much trash
instead of worrying about the game. He needs to become a winner."
Beasley, traded to Minnesota from the Miami Heat over the summer, is averaging 1.7 assists per game on the season. Artest, known as an oddball around the NBA, said Beasley should add more
variety to his game. "It's just the way you play, his awareness on the court; somebody should have told him. He should learn to pass, who to pass to, how to attack to make his teammates better. Then he'll be super tough.”
Artest went on to say that Beasley only has one offensive move. "He's so athletic and quick and strong. But eventually somebody's going to catch on to it."
But Beasley, who is enjoying the best season of his young career, said you shouldn’t fix something that’s been working. "The reason I do the same thing is because they can't stop it. As
soon as they stop it, I'll do something else."
Over Beasley’s six-game scoring binge, the Wolves are only 3-3. They have an overall record of 4-10 so far this season.
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