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Beasley Warms Up to a Bench Role

What do Michael Beasley and his former AAU coach have in common? They will both be paid a large sum of money to sit on the bench.

That's the latest word out of Heat circles, anyway.

"We'll have to wait and see how he progresses," coach Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday. "Right now, he's in a good rhythm offensively. And defensively, there are some things he needs to be more aware of."

Like the fact that he's expected to play defense, I imagine. That's a good thing to be aware of.

But he's figuring it out, and it's my opinion that he needs to be in the starting lineup, not because he was the No. 2 pick but because he's an immensely talented No. 2 pick who is already the second-best scorer on his team. And don't try to convince me that Beasley will be better utilized as the scoring focus of the second unit - if the Heat's hamstrung starting 5 has the team down 10 by the time he takes the court, what does it matter?

But it's hard to make a case for Beasley to start when he's talking himself into a sixth-man role:

"As far as me starting, I guess I can, but that's not my decision," he said. "I kind of like coming off the bench."

Do me a favor, Beasly, and don't like coming off the bench. Maybe take a shine to starting, playing 35 minutes and putting up double-doubles. I believe that's the expectation.

In other rotation-related news:

The Post's Chris Perkins suggests that Chris Quinn and Mark Blount will start at point guard and center, respectively. For lack of better options, of course.

The Herald, meanwhile, buys into the three-forward paradigm introduced yesterday by Ira Winderman, and drops this gem:

Until Jamaal Magloire's broken hand heals, the frontcourt mix of (Shawn) Marion, Beasley and Udonis Haslem might also be the team's best rebounding combination.

I'm thinking that may be the case after Magloire's hand heals, too.

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Beasley

Actually, I agree with Coach Spo – Beasley needs to earn his PT. Ultimately, more than winning a bunch of games early, it is more important that Beasley develop into a complete NBA player at both ends of the floor. It’s no good if he turns into a turnstile for every starting PF in the league. he has been coddled at every stage of his career and it is important that there has to be some sense of having things not just handed to him.
Plus, even if he is coming off the bench, I bet he still plays 30 minutes a game.
The most important thing is if he is playing at the end of the game when things matter most. Not that it is an apt comparison but Manu still doesn’t start most of the time but he always finishes and plays 35 min a game.

by orodag on Oct 16, 2008 3:32 PM EDT reply actions  

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