If the Knicks needed any extra motivation, Malik Beasley is giving it to them. Beasley has not minced words all series, taking several shots at the Knicks on social media and in front of the mic. Before Game 6, he added even more fuel to the fire, saying that the Pistons were the "mentally stronger" team in the series.
Beasley has taken shots at specific players, too. After Detroit’s Game 5 win, Beasley went at Mikal Bridges. A Knicks fan posted “Mikal going for 44 Thursday,” and Beasley quote-tweeted it with one word — “Minutes?” — and a crying laughing emoji.
The sharp-shooter has been highly active on social media throughout the series. Before Game 3, he posted that Little Caesars Arena was going to be more "lit" than Madison Square Garden.
His bark has been stronger than his bite
In fairness to Beasley, his confidence in who the Pistons are and what they can accomplish has remained consistent throughout the series. After going down in the series 3-1, he tweeted "First to 4 not 3", insinuating that the series was far from over. He's right, it is best out of seven, and the Pistons are one win away from getting to a Game 7, where anything can happen.
With that said, his unwavering confidence and continued jabs have been getting a lot more attention than his on-court play, which has been pretty underwhelming. He is shooting about 13 percent worse from behind the 3-point line than he was in the regular season. Outside of Game 1, where he buried six threes, he is shooting just 23.5 percent.
Maybe Beasley is right
As much as Knicks fans might want to fire back at Beasley, he may have a point. The Knicks have not looked like a mentally tough or prepared team for much of this series.
Their on-court chemistry seems to be lacking, and they go through huge stretches, specifically in the third quarters of games, where they look flat out terrible.
Jalen Brunson said he believes the Knicks have a mentality problem when asked about their third-quarter lulls, saying, "I feel like it's more of a mentality than anything. We can't let our foot off the gas, regardless of if we're up or down. We've got to be on go the entire time."
If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it probably is a duck. The opposing team is insinuating the Knicks are mentally weak, and their best player is admitting they have an issue with their mentality. Beasley's comments should serve as a wake-up call. The Knicks have the opportunity to look themselves in the mirror and come out on the court in Game 6 and shut Beasley up.