In a morning sweet 16 match up of the DC Assault and the Atlanta Celtics, a focused Beasley spearheaded an eventual romp for DC Assault after being down 47-44 at halftime. A couple buckets and a steal that led to an assist by Beasley gave DC Assault the led that they would only continue to build upon.
For the game, Beasley scored 28 points, along with 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists, 1 block and not a single turnover. Aggressive and alert on defense, Beasley defended well on the perimeter, coming up with impressive steals where he used his quickness to get into passing lanes. His 28 points included a three-pointer on his one attempt, and he also get buckets on mid-range fall aways off the dribble, spin moves in the post and put backs off offensive rebounds.
Much of the media attention here in Vegas has been focused on Kevin Love at the Big Time with his impending and eventual commitment to UCLA, but this morning, Beasley demonstrated with his foot speed on defensive, his ability to score and pass off the dribble and his overall athleticism why he is a better long term prospect than Love. Where Love has the advantage right now is with the consistency of his effort, focus, and therefore production. Beasley, however, has made huge strides in being a more consistent performer. Playing for the USA U18 team in late June seems to have enhanced Beasley's mental game.
Beasley tweaked his knee in his final eight game and sat out DC Assault's semifinal win, but he is expected to play on Wednesday.
D.C. Assault went into the halftime break with a 41-40 lead thanks in large part to five-star forward Michael Beasley.
Beasley is the toughest player in the country to defend. He can do it all from every spot on the floor and proved that when he looked to score in the championship game. Triple team him? Go for it. Pump-N-Run did. It didn't work. The lefty found a way to score with his right hand. If teams try to body him up inside, his perimeter shot and mid range game was working. If he had a glimpse of daylight inside, it was a bucket.
Beasley was dominating in the first half and helped the Assault over come a quick strike from Pump-N-Run, who opened the game blazing hot. Beasley scored at will and finished with 16 first half points and finished 29 points and nine rebounds.
For a guy that was virtually impossible to stop in the first half, Beasley didn't look to score and never had the ball in hands for the majority of the second half. He took his first shot in the second half with 5:40 to play. When he touched the ball, he scored. In fact, he didn't miss from the floor.
