Michael Beasley of the Minnesota Timberwolves is very talented as a scoring small forward.  He showed his skills last night against the Rockets by scoring 34 points off the bench on 10-of-14 shooting and 12-of-12 shooting from the free throw line. 

There's no doubt that he can get his shot off with his long 6'10" frame against just about any other small forward in the NBA.  The problem is he's extremely one dimensional.

Last night was Beasley's best game of his season. Basketball-Reference.com showed his offensive rating as a 166 (meaning every 100 possessions, he produces 166 points), which would lead the league by far for regular players.  However, a look at the other side of the equation showed his defensive rating as a 115 (giving up 115 points per 100 possessions) which would be the worst among regulars.

To look at one game would be unfair so let's consider his previous year as well.  Last year with the Wolves, Beasley had what many people felt was a comeback year, averaging 19.2 points with 5.6 rebounds.  A closer look at those numbers show that Beasley's offensive rating was a 100 and his defensive rating was a 112.   

Another important metric to view a player is player efficiency rating, which shows us per minute performance.  The league average PER is 15.00.  Beasley racked up a 13.1 PER at small forward last year and gave up a 19.3 to opposing players.  How can a player who seemed to have such a good year be outperformed by so much?

In the interest of fairness, Beasley performed much better at the power forward position, outperforming his opponent 18.4-17.7, but the problem there is that Kevin Love is the Timberwolves power forward and won't be giving up minutes to anyone.

Beasley has only played in half of the Timberwolves games this year, averaging 30.6 minutes per game.  It is a reasonable sample, which is why the most telling stat to explain his performance this year is his minus-10 difference in offensive to defensive rating.  Even worse than the overall number, Beasley's PER this year at small forward is a historically terrible 3.2, while giving up a 16.6 to opponents.

The last number I'm going to leave you with is plus-4.  Beasley's tremendous offensive showing against the Rockets last night netted his team four extra points.  That's it.  He had to have one of the best offensive nights in his career just to get his team a four-point advantage.

Whether it's a lack of talent on defense or just a general disinterest in giving top effort, here's to hoping the Timberwolves aren't fooled by Beasley's recent offensive outburst. 

Minnesota can't keep him and expect to truly contend.  The Wolves need to market him like gold and hope they can find a suitor who is mesmerized by his offensive game and willing to overlook his defensive weaknesses.  The Wolves need a scoring shooting guard—are there any fools in Memphis or Houston?

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