My Case For Beasley, and The Heat's "Road to Redemption"

                                   MY CASE FOR BEASLEY

 WHY WADEs NEW-LOOK MIAMI HEAT SHOULD TAKE A "ROAD TO REDEMPTION"

Michael Beasley is gonna be an unvelievable player. That is how I wanted to start this column, because I am an avid NBA fan, and a kind-of/sort-of Heat fan.

Here's the deal: All year long I have been listening and reading the arguments over Beasley…. “why isn’t he rebounding?, why isn’t he posting up?, why this", why that?”, and it is sickening. I also have heard alot of requests to trade him, and i dont think thats the right idea either.

This is a 19-year-old kid, first and foremost. Second of all, he’s been pretty darn good in his adjustment, but I think a lot of the criticism comes off of a lot of misconceptions about his game and what it will take for the Heat to develop into a champion around their fantastic young franchise player: Dwyane Wade.

When I look at Michael Beasley I see almost a flipped version of Carmelo Anthony… An absolutely PHENOMENAL scorer and all-around young talent. Did Carmelo need to mature a little? Sure. Has he? Yes. Has he gotten better every year? Yes. Has he improved in every aspect of the game? Yes.

Beasley is every bit the talent, and to trade him would be insane on Miami’s part, although I DO agree that Wade is so good he probably COULD win a title if you could turn Beasley into a star player right now.

The fact is: Would you rather win two titles as a max if everything goes insanely right? Or would you want to go with Beasley, seven years younger than Wade (26, and entering his prime) and have a chance at a dynasty?

Why do I say armelo? Isnt Carmelo a small forward? Why isn’t Beasley a “power” forward? Why isn’t he rebounding 10 a game? Etc.

I can hear it coming out of your mouth already….. let me stress this: I said “FLIP” version of Carmelo. What do I mean by that?

There is a lot of power forward in Carmelo's game, but he is more small-forward overall… Beasley has a lot of small forward in his game, but he is more power-forward overall. It is an insanely positive attribute: versatility. Beasley has it, just as Melo does.

In fact, Beasleys perimeter skills is the main reason he is thriving as a 19-year-old despite not having bulked up yet or adjusted yet as an NBA PF. It is a great thing to fall back on and will help him continue to succeed as he adjusts, unlike a guy like say: David West who didn’t have those skills to fall back on and didn’t succeed until the adjustment was made by year three and age 23.

Is Beasley gonna be a 20/10 guy? Is he gonna be a true back-to-basket scorer? No.

He is gonna be a 23/8 guy and a tremendous allaround scorer that will get plenty of inside baskets. “You cant win without a post-presence”, that is BS: you can. The Pistons did it in 04 and the Celtics did it last year with PF’s that were similar offensively to Beasley except not as fast or agile while being two or three inches taller.

But KG offensively for years has been the same player that Beasley will soon be. Beasley should have a big athletic center next to him that blocks shots, can catch, and can really rebound: Ideally Tyson Chandler or Camby type, if you find one that can post up a bit? Great, but not completely necessary with Wade and Beasley getting so many points in the paint and double-teams anyways.

The Small Forward should be a 3-point shooter and lockdown defender type of roleplayer: The Battier or Posey type.

How can you build a champion around Wade with Beasley? What style best fits their exploits? Wade can deliver in any style, but what DOES best fit him? What best fits a PF like Beasley? Didn’t you just watch that this past summer in the olympics?

Why did I bring up the Olympics? Michael Beasley as an NBA Power Forward is gonna be very similar player to Carmelo as a PF in the Olympic games. Break the defense getting it to him in the mid to high post and let him pick it apart from in there, that was a huge part of Team USA’s offense, and the athleticism and quickness at PF (Lebron, Tayshaun, Melo) was the biggest thing geared towards their success besides the great athleticism and slashing ability of the guards (especially Wade, and Kobe).

If Im Miami heat general manager Pat Riley I am seeing that teams style as a blueprint of my future. What was the center like on that team? Did they have a true post-up presence? No, they didn’t.  Sure they had Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh, but what were their roles? Scoring was not asked of them.

They were asked to anchor the defense, lock down pick/roll, clean up the glass, use their athleticism to their advantage, set picks on offense and space the floor.

They played like Marcus Camby plays in the NBA, because the post-ups just don’t happen in that game the same way unless youre prime-shaq in '96, unfortunately there is no player like that in todays nba, but if you find one: sure go ahead and trade Beasley for him….. otherwise? Beasley is your guy for the next 15 years at PF… and that’s a great thing, not a bad thing….. for center of the future you should be looking at this type of player to go with your core: the dirty-work guy, a Marcus Camby is great, if you can find one that CAN post up a bit: maybe Jermaine Oneal now in his older years as long as you can convince him to sacrifice touches could be a great fit.

What was the PG like? Jason Kidd wasn’t the main force on that team at PG, it was Chris Paul and Deron pushing the tempo and wreaking havoc on defense, as well as penetrating and pitching, and of course hitting their open 3pointers (sound like Chalmers to you heat fans out there?). Chalmers is the PG of the future, and should develop into a big piece in their future success just as Beasley will, and sooner than you think...

Only worry at PG for Riley should be finding a veteran backup to stabilize the troops in a critical playoff moment and to mentor Chalmers a bit, much like Kidd did for the young team USA to get from third-place level to gold-medal level. (Sam Cassell? Gary Payton? Jason Kidd himself? Who knows.)

In the meantime they can succeed as a playoff team this year with Beasley playing his game and improving as the explosive sixth man, and still succeed because they have the personnel to play that style and build a foundation. Shawn Marion is that type of player, as is Haslem.

You can get the ball to Marion at weak-spots in the opponents defense, right in the middle, as you can Haslem, and mostly you play off of Wade’s greatness and Mario Chalmers penetration and pg-play as he develops…. And at PF youre gonna set up for success at a playoff level until Beasley is ready, and once he is (not too far away guys, be patient) it is gonna be an unbelievable team to watch.

DEFENSE

On defense youre seeing how the Miami Heat force turnovers and run off of them, very very quick and athletic, probably the best havoc-wreaking perimeter defense in the NBA.

Marion and Haslem combined are a poor-mans version of what Beasley will one day be at PF for you guys on offense(difference between playoff level and championship level, remember that: development of Beasley in this position), but on defense Haslem is what Beasley will one day hopefully be (Beasley will be a better shotblocker, more athletic). Marion is a TERROR on defense.

Watching him fly around rotating and locking it down is reminiscent of a young Scottie pippen. That is what you will some day want out of your small forward next to Beasley, with a 3-point shot on offense and taking fewer shots. Everything else defensively is ideal from him… The way Chalmers/Wade/Marion fly around disrupting is a joy to watch, and the key to why the Heat are so good.

Since the shotblocker and picksetter (a role D-Howard played for Team USA, or Luc Longley for the old bulls teams) has been inserted to the starting lineup they have went 5-1 and it could’ve been 6-0 if not for an “inadvertent” whistle in LA on the last play (a gamewinning steal that was taken away). THAT’S with an EXTREMELY POOR MANS version of what you need at center too: Joel Anthony.

So be patient Miami fans: you could be looking at a potential dynasty here. Lord knows you have the franchise player to get it done in Wade, and the coach in Spoelstra has the right idea too. BEASLEY IS THE GUY.

He is gonna be the nNBA equivalent at PF to what we saw from team USA’s PF's in the international game. If the Heat build around these 3 the right way and keep building on this style of play and gameplan: I don’t see much that can stop them from being a future dynasty. I really don’t.

They have such a great cap situation coming up and all the right pieces in place. If Riley figures it out, the league is gonna be seeing a whole lot of Wade/Beasley, a whole lot of Biscayne Boulevard, and a whole lot of great basketball coming from Miami.

It could be a dominant decade for the Miami Heat if they follow the right path. Keep Beasley and go the route that Team USA took to gold. You have the perfect young leader and No. 1 man that’s already led a team to a title and knows what it takes on both ends, and the perfect “international” Power Forward to get it done with. Not to mention a helluva young PG and some great cap room to pick your pieces.

So stop the complaining Miami faans. Youre in an ideal situation: the best of both worlds. You can win-now a bit and get to the playoffs, and more importantly: win much bigger later. Follow the team USA blueprint, that’s what fits your two cornerstones best. It’s a perfect fit for Wade/Beasley/Chalmers, and that’s whats important. Spoelstra knows this as well.

You have cap space, the right path starting to be taken, you have a poor mans version of the SF/Beasley/C frontcourt that is gonna deliver on greatness shortly down the road as of right now in Marion/Haslem/Joel, and the Chalmers/Wade backcourt is a keeper for years to come. The coach, GM, and style of play is as well. You’ve got a great start on the right path.

So no trades. Let Beasley and Chalmers develop, as well as Wade as the team leader and Spo as the coach. Just stay the path youre on to the first playoff learning experience that sould result in this first exciting season in the HEATs “road to redemption”.