Michael Beasley: 'Those Gremlins Are Always Messing with Me'

Phoenix Suns forward Michael Beasley is an interesting character. His production has had its ups and downs, as he has gone from being a well-balanced forward in the making to pure scorer/shooter to just plain bad this season.

In his first year with Phoenix, Beasley is averaging just 9.5 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 38 percent from the floor and just under 31 percent from long range. The percentages are especially notable, as they are well below his career marks of 45 and 35.

Beasley's free-throw shooting has also been hit-or-miss (72 percent on the year), particularly in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 14. He missed some by a considerable margin, and Jonathan Dalton of NBA.com got the scoop after Beasley was seen giving the rim a dirty look.

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Suns forward Michael Beasley, after missing two of his first free-throw attempts off the side of the rim, walked down the lane, stared up at the iron and shook his head. "I had to scare the gremlins away," he said. "Those gremlins are always messing with me."

 

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Um, excuse me? Did I hear that right? Did Beasley seriously say "gremlins," as in those little psychotic dudes that almost ruined Christmas back in the '80s??

If those things are living in basketball hoops, that may or may not explain why my shooting game was never what I hoped it would be. All jokes aside, it's interesting that Beasley would say that to describe his shooting and scoring woes.

However, as he told Minnesota Timberwolves blog "A Wolf Among Wolves" back in 2010, his reasoning is not that far-fetched.

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Did you see Beasley walk forward after missing a free throw in each of the team’s first preseason games, tilt his head and glare at the rim?

Well, here’s the story:

“That’s a college job,” said Beasley, who played one season at Kansas State. “Luis Colon was my college center. He’s a big Spanish guy and when big Spanish guys get mad, they start speaking Spanish real fast. Every time he missed, he’d look at the rim and curse the rim out. So every time I miss, I’m trying to get the gremlin off the top of the rim.”

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OK, so by that reasoning, each time I miss a shot in a pickup game, I should give the rim a dirty look and/or shake my fist at it? Why didn't Shaquille O'Neal ever think of this whenever he missed a free throw?

Alright, I'm done. I promise. My point is that for Beasley to blame his shooting woes on "gremlins" is just plain ridiculous.

Why not blame it on the fact that he's just having an off year? Maybe it's a mechanics problem that he needs to work on in practice. Whatever is ailing him, it's something that only hard work will solve.

And that means it's time for Beasley to stop blaming his missed shots on little demonic creatures from the '80s, whether it's a joke or not.