He is 19-years-old and likes Spongebob Squarepants cartoons and wears a Batman mouthguard during games.
This is Michael Beasley, a young and vibrant kid who is living his dream. People seem to forget that he is just a KID.
He is also the starting Power Forward of the Miami Heat. It was a move that had to be made when considering this roster in order to start the trio of Shawn Marion and Udonis Haslem along with himself.
We're only 10 games into the 2008-09 NBA season, but it's never too early for impressions.
Michael Beasley is currently averaging 16.3 points per game to go along with 5.9 rebounds per game on 44 percent shooting. He is also contributing about two assists per game as well as one steal and one block per.
Unfortunately, these numbers are only scratching the surface of Michael Beasley's true potential. It's only his rookie season, but he is being used the wrong way by rookie head coach, Michael Spoelstra.
Beasley is the highest ever lottery selection in Miami Heat franchise history and yet he is treated like a role player on the level of Udonis Haslem on the basketball court.
Beasley has been subbed out during the closing minutes of games twice now for the less than spectacular bench player in Mark Blount. Where is the logic in that?
Can anyone possible explain such a move? Spoelstra claims it was due to Beasley's defensive deficiencies but fails to realize the irony of that statement since Mark Blount is an even worse defensive player.
Derrick Rose and OJ Mayo are not being used as role players and I think it's about time that Beasley isn't either.
Again though, we are only 10 games into the regular season and Beasley as well as this Heat team has a very long way to go before a conclusion can be made about how much Beasley will pan out.
One thing is for sure... Heat fans are most definitely excited at this point. Especially coming off of a 15-win season.
7 comments Last one added 4 months ago — Leave a Comment
nayfin k 7 months ago
beasley doesnt know team d blount does thats why .if a team wants a easy score or foul run the pick and roll and go a beasley and there you have it, he never knows where to be when he has to switch
Edit Comment Cancel
Saad Alqaddoumi 7 months ago
Actually Beasley has made a very nice effort on defense this season and has been better than any Heat fans expected. Sure he has gotten confused on switches at times but it's more important to have him out there to make those mistakes and learn from them than to play Mark Blount. Maybe I could understand if we have 'Zo coming off the bench but not Blount.
Edit Comment Cancel
Allen Levin 7 months ago
Great article man. I agree with you 100%. Beasley shouldn't be used as a role player. He easily has the potential to be Wade's sidekick. They would be a dominating 1-2 punch. He should be averaging 18-22 points right now with his skills.
Just so you know, the Heat's head coach is Eric Spoelstra not Michael. I am sure you just got it mixed up on accident.
But, great article. I would love to see you in the Miami Heat community.
Edit Comment Cancel
nayfin k 7 months ago
he has gotten better and he will continue to improve but that d right now is awful
Edit Comment Cancel
Darrell Horwitz 7 months ago
Beasley's a head case and is never going to live up to his potential. He's an undersized power foward with a bad attitude. The Heat would have been better off with Mayo, but he's too similar to Wade. At least he could be there two years from now when Wade leaves in free-agency.
Don't you wish you ended up with the number one pick so you could have taken Rose? I'm from Chicago and have watched all of his games and let me tell you something - he's going to be a superstar. In fact, I think he's already one of the twenty best players in the league and he's just scratched the surface so far. I would probably go as far to say that if a GM were starting a team today, he'd be one of the first ten picks of any player in the league.
Portland double-teamed him the other day and shut him down. Golden State was playing a similar defense yesterday and he had only two points in the first half. So he started to take what they gave him and took over the game and ended up with twenty-five. He's was making shots from all over the court, including a nifty bank shot that surprised me. If he can shoot effectively from the outside, and he's been working on it a lot, he's going to be unstoppable, because he can beat anybody to the basket.
An NBA scout when asked who was going to be the best player five years from now among Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Rose picked Rose hands down.
He's also a quiet kid without a big ego who listens to his coach. He just wants to play basketball and win. When he sees he has a weakness, he works on it non-stop. He's different than most of the players playing today.
If things continue going as well as they have so far, look to see him in the All-Star game this year. And he'll be a fixture All-NBA first team for years to come in the near future, maybe even by next year.
As a Bull's fan, I'm so glad we got him. There were a lot of stories in Chicago that the Bulls should have taken Beasley. It took me all of a second when they won the lottery to know who I wanted. A point guard makes evevybody better. An undersized power forward like Beasley would have only been looking out for himself. We already had Elton Brand, another undersized PF and went nowhere. At least the future is a little brighter, even though we might have to replace practically everyone playing with him right now.
Edit Comment Cancel
Saad Alqaddoumi 7 months ago
Chill out Darrell, it's getting a little annoying as a Heat fan to hear how much hate Bulls fans have for Beasley for some reason and rubbing it in our faces that you guys got Rose. We suffered through a much worse season than you guys did and somehow you leapfrogged us and got the #1 pick ... i'm fine with that and have come to accept it but you don't have to be so cocky about it all.
We get it, you guys have a future superstar and are ready to judge Michael Beasley's entire career on his first 12 games as a 19 year old.
Edit Comment Cancel
Hotnuke 4 months ago
Nice article, Saad.
Sorry it took me so long getting around to reading it...lol Five stars, buddy.
However, I'm of the opinion we should wait till next season to let him move into the starting PF role. We need his production coming off the bench too badly right now, and I still feel Udonis is a better option starting.
Bease will get his chance, and will make his mark. Hopefully he'll unleash the Beast within this postseason, and will set it loose to terrorize opposing teams next year as well.
Be patient, my friend.
Edit Comment Cancel
Saad Alqaddoumi 4 months ago
Well I wrote this article 4 months ago Daniel, my opinions have changed a lot since then. ;o
This was back when Beas was starting, I wasn't implying that he should be now or anything.
Edit Comment Cancel
Leave a Comment
You must register to post a comment.