Oddly enough, his perimeter game was decent last year, but fell off a cliff this season.I think Malik gave good effort. He got bigger and stronger. And he pretty much demanded double teams. The problem IMO is that he is a 5 on offense with no perimeter skills. But he can’t be a 5 on defense because he gives zero rim protection and is a poor defender.
So he is always a defensive liability. I’m fine if he returns, because he can get you buckets. But he needs to be a 25 minute guy.