# Charting Beasley's Progress



## Adam (Jan 28, 2003)

I think that I'm going to maintain a current thread addressing Beasley's play. I'd like to get my thoughts from each game down before I forget them. Maybe it will serve as a research source for people on both sides of the argument on this site who want to claim whether he is a bust or not.


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## Adam (Jan 28, 2003)

*Wednesday, November 18, 2009*


*Defense*

He started off the game aggressively bodying up Josh Smith on Smith's drive and forcing him into a wild shot that hit the top of the backboard, resulting in a Miami rebound as Smith screamed for a foul. It was an impressive start. He was pretty quiet from then and gave up a dunk on a pick and roll to Smith. However, he quickly regained his form and showed incredible intelligence on one key sequence of events: Joe Johnson had previously drained a three pointer on the previous possession so on the next possession Beasley didn't softly hedge on the pick but full out blitzed Johnson and forced him to pass down low to a guy who turned it over. Very smart basketball when you consider that Johnson was hot and he gained a turnover against Atlanta.

In the later parts of the game, he had a really nice dig down on Johnson who was trying to post up which forced him to pass the ball with the shotclock winding down and nobody in position to score. A block on Josh Smith driving was really nice. He has had a block each of the last 4 games and they have all been very impressive starting with the NBA block of the night against JJ Hickson.

He squeezed some rebounds out of bounds starting in the first quarter. He mistimed a free throw miss which should have been a simple rebound. Another huge negative was his foul trouble at the end of the game. A few came on offensive fouls which were highly debatable but if there's any positive it was that he was aggressive.

*Offense*

No revelation here. He started 5/5 with a couple dunks. He missed a layup later when he drove into Horford and didn't get a call. The offensive foul calls hurt him but he played a solid game, mixing drives and shots well. Seemed to taper off and struggle with his shot after the hot start. Late in the game, turned down a three pointer despite being wide open.

*Play of the game*

The sequence where he recognized Johnson just hit a shot and he took it upon himself to get the ball out of his hands. That's something you only see a leader do and I doubt we see him do this often unless he takes the next step.

*Intangibles*

This kid must have worn size 2 shoes until he was 18 because he's so bumbling. On a totally innocuous play in the 1st, Joe Johnson bumped into him while in motion and Beasley fell completely backward and flopped like a fish. One, how the hell was that enough contact to knock a 240 lb. man over? Two, lol. Reminded me of last year where he fell on his butt but then somehow kept tumbling backwards into a somersault. I don't know if he is still going through puberty or if he has some joint problems but I assume it's just a case of a young man growing into his body.


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## sknydave (Apr 27, 2006)

He's always falling backwards for some reason


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## Wade County (Jun 22, 2003)

Good idea for a thread Adam. Look forward to reading your insights.


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## PoetLaureate (Feb 8, 2009)

I would like to keep track of his screen setting and its effectiveness. I see way too many times where he sets the screen and immediately rolls before even making contact with the dude, basically a fake pick. This leads to trouble for the ball handler (usually Wade).


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## -33- (Aug 6, 2002)

PoetLaureate said:


> I would like to keep track of his screen setting and its effectiveness. I see way too many times where he sets the screen and immediately rolls before even making contact with the dude, basically a fake pick. This leads to trouble for the ball handler (usually Wade).


That's called "slipping the screen"...I would imagine that it's something Spo is trying to do to free up Beas for a roll/pop


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## sknydave (Apr 27, 2006)

Beasley completely sucks at setting screens. Most of the time he is doing what DQ is talking about though. Faking the screen and then shooting off to the side for the J


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## Adam (Jan 28, 2003)

*Friday, November 20, 2009*

*8-18 FG, 12 rbs (6 off), 2 ast, 21 pts*

*Intangibles*

I think that this game introduced me to the researcher's paradox. I have to write about Beasley unbiasedly, but I'm part of the world which means I can never be free of bias. More specifically I'm speaking about the referee treatment.

The kid flat out gets no respect from the refs. Only once in his career have the refs correctly penalized defenders who impede his progress by aggressively bodying him up or by hammering him in the restricted area and that was a game against San Antonio where he shot like 10 FT's in one quarter.

One play that sticks out in my mind was against Denver where he stole the ball from Martin and broke away for a layup and was hammered by Nene but got no call. Here's the picture:










I've always maintained that Beasley's game is most similar to Dirk's and he is following the same career path of a young Dirk. He's a finesse big man who when he catches the ball he faces you up in that three point stance and will measure you up for a shot or drive past you if you close his air space. So far in his career whenever he is driving his defender is bodying him up and impeding his progress which should be resulting in blocking fouls. Beasley drove across the lane last night and was shoved by Pops' chest and ridiculously the refs called a charge on Beasley. That's grievance number one. 

Grievance number two: when he jumps into contact he isn't getting a shooting foul and free throws out of it. For instance, last night he got an offensive rebound and took it straight into the defender Bargnani who was in the restricted area. A defender can't impede the progress of an offensive player inside the restricted area because he is moving toward the goal and your contact with him is preventing it. The onus is on the defender to stop him BEFORE he gets into that restricted area and once he is in that area you must contest without contacting him. Miraculously there was a picture which I'm fairly positive is from this incident:










The defender is clearly in the restricted area. The contact was clear, yet there was no whistle on this play. Even if Bargnani was stationary (he wasn't) it doesn't matter because you can't draw a charge in that circle. You have to do your defensive work before the offensive player gets into that spot. I'm not even clamoring for the so-called "superstar" treatment. All I want is for the rules of basketball to be followed. Especially when he is so harshly scrutinized by the refs on the defensive end.

I see the refs doing a shoddy job against him but I freely admit that this may just be my bias.


*Defense*

On a couple of possession at the beginning of the game he ended up on Bosh. He fronted him well and denied the entry pass despite Bosh battling. On one play he swept in front of Bosh and intercepted an entry pass.

He mostly guarded Bargnani all night. During the first defensive sequence against Bargnani I thought that he was over agressive on Andrea's shot fake but when he repeated it for the next couple sequences I realized that the gameplan was to run out on him and force him to put the ball on the court. To Bargnani's credit he hit some ridiculous shots. Nothing really came easy and I don't see Bargnani's 24 point night as anything more than a guy knocking down some very tough shots.

*Offense*

Three dunks. He has been mixing the driving game well. A huge three pointer late in the game helped during the comeback. Had a very good shooting night and most of his misses came during skirmishes under the basket where he probably got contacted a little more than the refs gave him credit.

Need I even mention six offensive rebounds? I think the stat speaks for itself. This was the Michael Beasley we have all been waiting for.


*Play of the game*

Offensive rebound off a James Jones missed three pointer and then a short jumper. Cut the lead to 8 at the end of the third quarter.



*Score:* 8/10


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## Wade County (Jun 22, 2003)

Oi, Adam, quit slacking and give me my recap!


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## Adam (Jan 28, 2003)

*Sunday, November 22, 2009*

*7-13, 17 pts, 9 rebs*








*Intangibles*

The huge story of this game was the short leash on Beasley. How is it possible for a player to have 17 pts 9 rebs on 54% shooting and only play 28 minutes? To answer this question I wanted to rewatch and break down the plays, including the 4th quarter in which he played four minutes (two at SF with JO and Haslem in the game).

In my opinion, Beasley was benched twice during this game. The entire second quarter which he only entered with 2:00 remaining and only due to O'Neal picking up his 3rd foul, and the fourth quarter which he entered with 11:00 remaining and exited with roughly 7:00 remaining. To analyze these benchings I will incorporate aspects of his offense and defense and will not be limiting that information to those categories in this post.

During the first quarter, Beasley held David West to 0-3 shooting and 2 rebs. One miss, Beasley bodied him on a drive and forced him into a wild shot that was blocked by Wade. Another miss, Beasley bodied him on a drive and forced him into a wild shot that was blocked by Wade. Deja vu? Conversely, Beasley had 6 pts and 4 rebounds in the quarter. Beasley also left his man during one sequence at the end of the first and defended the baseline and forced New Orleans into a 24 second violation. You would think that this was a good performance? However, he was benched in the 2nd as previously stated. Possibly he was benched for shooting 2-7? But is that a significant sample size to bench somebody? A TS% of 34% doesn't justify such a reaction.

In the second quarter, David West went 2-4 with Haslem guarding him and pulled down 2 rebounds. Notably, Haslem, who is lauded as a defensive stopper and Beasley as a poor defender, did a poorer job on West than Beasley. At best, it was any type of performance that should have your coach saying, "I have to keep this man on the floor," especially considering the starter outperformed him statistically. Beasley entered the game with 2 minutes left and West went 0-0 and grabbed 0 rebounds with Beasley on him. Begs the question, where was Beasley earlier?

Now, the fourth quarter benching. Beasley guarded Posey first as a SF then as a PF after Haslem went to the bench. He held Posey to 2-4 shooting but he was benched for the two made FG's, both three's. 

On the first, Songaila was playing center. Bobby Brown ran a pick and roll with Songaila and Arroyo and JO didn't defend it very well. Songaila rolled to the basket and Beasley dropped off Posey to pick him up. Brown then passed it to Posey who was now open but Cook should have seen that Beasley was cheating off Posey to pick up Songaila and he should have already rotated and picked up Posey and he didn't. Beasley runs out on him and contests the shot. Conclusion: it was a team breakdown on defense because of an inability to contain the pick and roll. JO and Arroyo deserve the blame if anybody and Cook as well for not rotating. I really see no fault with Beasley at all because he did exactly what he was supposed to do and more by even contesting the shot.


On the second, David West was playing center. Thornton ran a pick and roll, Arroyo did a poor job fighting over it and JO didn't step out at all and moved far away from West to seal off the lane from Thornton. Beasley cheated over slightly to cover West who was now completely open because of the poor job by JO and Arroyo/great offensive screen play by Thornton and West. Thornton makes an intelligent decision and throws it to Posey who Beasley is cheating off of and Posey shoots and makes a three, but Beasley did run out on him and contested the shot. Conclusion: the shot was NOT wide open and between David West shooting an unguarded 18 footer and Posey shooting a quick, contested 23 footer there's no question that Beasley made the right decision.




*Did Beasley truly make mistakes on defense that led to his benching?* I have to say no. The two three pointers which I believe were the direct cause of his benching were more the fault of JO primarily for not hedging on the pick and roll. 

*Did his backup outperform him?* I have to say no. West scored more easily on Haslem in the 2nd quarter. During the fourth, Haslem had a terrible shot with 20+ seconds on the clock after an offensive rebound and then a push in the back foul on back to back plays. 

*Was Beasley a defensive liability in the 4th quarter?* If the two three pointers made led to his benching he conversely didn't receive any credit for the shots missed. He forced Posey into a missed three pointer and a wild shot. 2-4 against Beasley and the two makes contested isn't exactly porous defense. It's not the 4-4 that we would have seen last year.




*Score:* 8.5/10


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## Adam (Jan 28, 2003)

^To provide some justification for Spo's decision, one more thing that's important to note is that New Orleans had Posey at SF when Beasley was at SF. When we took Haslem out and moved Beasley to PF, New Orleans took Julian Wright out and moved Posey to PF. During the pick and roll plays, Bobby Brown and Thornton both immediately passed to Posey without hesitation. This shows that New Orleans' plan was to stretch the floor with Posey against Beasley. It's possible that Spo benched Beasley in order to prevent what he saw as an opportunity for New Orleans to exploit his team. The benching of Beasley may have been a necessary action due to JO's inability to cover the pick and roll which would have continued to provide chances for New Orleans. It would essentially have boiled down to a decision of either going with Beasley and Haslem at center or going with Haslem and your actual center JO.

One reason why I can't sugarcoat it this way is because Chalmers who soon entered the game would not have done as poor a job on the screens as Arroyo. Two, if JO isn't defending then his *** needs to be held accountable and be benched. Three, Haslem can't guard a perimeter guy like Posey (who is actually a SF and Haslem can't guard SF's) any better than Beasley. He proved that during the rest of that quarter.


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## Wade2Bosh (Mar 31, 2004)

Mike's last 4 games:

18.5ppg on 48% 10.5rpg in 34mpg


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## Wade County (Jun 22, 2003)

He's been very good lately. His defense has actually been pretty reasonable, you cant fault his endeavour - he's trying out there.

Most encouraging are the rebounds - we all know he can board, just for whatever reason he doesnt seem to grab as many consistently. Thats 4 straight with atleast 9 rebounds, a good sign.

Offensively he's still working harder than usual, but im hopeful that J will be back to its automatic self. The dunks are especially good to see, showing off the athleticism that people doubt he has. You want him to play above the rim? He's getting there.


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## sknydave (Apr 27, 2006)

Beasley needs to be in the game. This team is going nowhere and he NEEDS his playing time. Regardless of how he's playing or if he makes dumb mistakes, he needs to get the experience


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## PoetLaureate (Feb 8, 2009)

Beas needs to work on how the ball just sticks once it reaches him. I would like to see a little more decisiveness, but that is a long term development thing. I don't think he is used to seeing the game so fast and its probably the biggest hurdle for him to overcome if he wants to be a top 5 PF. He's gotta be in there though to make those necessary mistakes and learn from them.


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## Jace (Sep 26, 2005)

Yea that NO game was ridiculous. He was clearly outplaying Haslem. UD did not have the foot-speed to recover on Posey's threes and gave some up as well. 

I think the cognitive tendency from the coaching staff and some fans is to dismiss both Haslem's mistakes and Beasley's successes as aberrational. Its also easy to say Spo made the right move, because we won, but the team was simply looking better with Beas on the floor, and Im not sure a last second shot would've been required had he not been benched.


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## gi0rdun (May 31, 2007)

Very nice thread idea. I wanted to make a similar one for Anthony Randolph but his minutes are way too ****ing inconsistent it makes me want to cry.

It's weird that the top 3 picks from last year are all hitting Sophomore walls.


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## Wade2Bosh (Mar 31, 2004)

bump :wait: opcorn:

Mike's #'s since November 18th(10 games): 18.2ppg on 50%, 8.2rpg in 34mpg


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## Jace (Sep 26, 2005)

Sick. His rebounding has dipped a little bit in some recent games, but he's still playing well overall. You can't expect 10 rebounds from him every night, but hopefully he does.

Those are kind of the numbers I think we're hoping for for a full season.


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## PoetLaureate (Feb 8, 2009)

Mike is too content letting others grab his boards when he boxes out, he probably loses at least a rebound a game on average just because of that. Watch Q next game, he doesn't give a **** he is getting that board when he wants it.


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## Wade County (Jun 22, 2003)

On the season he is at 15.4 and 6.8 in 31.8 minutes.

If we played him 34-35 a game im sure he'd be hitting the 18 and 8 mark.


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## Wade County (Jun 22, 2003)

When Beas gets over 30 minutes, his stats are (13 games):

17.7 points
7.3 rebounds
0.9 assists
2.8 fouls
1.9 turnovers
0.5 blocks
1.0 steals
34.8 minutes


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## Jace (Sep 26, 2005)

Right along the lines of what I predicted for him this season. There's no reason he shouldn't average over 32 minutes this season. I'd like to see him go up to 35 at least.


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## PoetLaureate (Feb 8, 2009)

His minutes are increasing, slowly. Sometimes odd things happen like getting benched in the 2nd quarter, but the final stage is going to be closing out a game.


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## Wade2Bosh (Mar 31, 2004)

Bringing over MB30's post from the Spurs game thread


MB30 said:


> I did a spreadsheet for Beas' last 20 games. Results of which are:
> 
> 17.4 ppg
> 7.4 rpg
> ...


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## Wade County (Jun 22, 2003)

Just wanted to mention, I read on a blog that Beasley is the 2nd highest scoring PF in the Eastern Conference...thats pretty crazy. Haven't verified that, but if true - speaks volumes to his development.

He's also scored 20 in a half twice in his last 3 games (vs San Antonio and Atlanta...matched against Duncan and Smith).

Thoroughly outplayed Smith tonight.


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## Wade2Bosh (Mar 31, 2004)

Jamison, Harrington and Gerald Wallace are the PF's ahead of Mike in PPG in the East. But Harrington and Wallace arent really true 4's.


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## Smithian (Apr 3, 2006)

I was slammed this offseason especially by opposing fans for saying Beasley will within a few years average about 24 and 11. There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that soon enough he could average 25 or even 26 if our scheme allows it and he has shown glimpses of dominance on the boards that make 10.5-11 boards a game look not really implausible and maybe my more optimistic idea that he could have an insane 11.5-12.5 rebound year not impossible someday if he were unleashed to play big mintes. Turns out I was right on his development. I said that this year his rebounding would increase a bit as his scoring jumped as he became much more complete in more facets of his game, but not a true back to basket game. Next year when he starts going back to basket more, his rebounding will jump much more than it has from last year to this year. The idea of him someday averaging at worst 23-10 is pretty darn believable. Beasley in his second year, just as he did in his rookie year, looks like the #2 overall pick. *This guy is only 20 years old!!!*

Michael Beasley is destined to be the stud #2 man and future all-star we all dreamed of putting next to Wade, and to think some people this offseason thought Miami should trade him for Blake Griffin's rookie card, a replica Eric Gordon jersey, and maybe a game worn head band from Baron or Ricky Davis!


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## PoetLaureate (Feb 8, 2009)

I don't like making excuses for his rebounding, and I don't really think he has it in him to average 11 boards a game, but I think part of his rebounding troubles come from a lack of a true role on the team. Rebounding is a mental thing, you need a certain mindset to go out and grab 10+ boards nightly. Think about it, everyone on this team has their job that they always have no matter what. Wade is obviously the scorer and leader, JO provides a post presence and whatever he can do in the paint, Haslem comes in to play defense and rebound, Joel blocks shots, Q defends and shoots threes, but what is Beasley? His situation is awkward and his role constantly shifting in that he plays the first and third quarters as a sidekick to Wade and a true PF, about half of the second quarter as the first option (either as PF or SF), and all over the place in the fourth. And all of this while he is consistently trying to be aware of, and improve, his defense which can keep his focus off the boards. We all complain about how there is no chemistry with Wade and Beasley, I actually think that this team is not prepared (as in there is no 48 minute gameplan) to have him as a full time second scorer. They are taking baby steps with him, off the bench last year, starting but no closing so far this year, etc. 

I think there is a huge difference in a player's mindset when they have to juggle the above situation, as opposed to him knowing he is the team's guy, that he is the full time PF, will play no matter what, and its his job to get 20-10 (or more). You can see him breaking a bit out of his shell with the reports of him standing up to Q and all that. Right now mentally this team belongs to the vets and he is just tagging along. Next year he will clearly be a main guy with more responsibility and with that, I think an increase in rebounding will come.


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## Jace (Sep 26, 2005)

Good post PL. Lots of good points. While I've been ecstatic with Beasley's development this season, clearly it'll be at least another year before we start to see consistent dominant scoring and rebounding. As you said, his lack of defined role and the fact that he spends a large chunks of games basically in limbo at SF, result in inconsistent play.


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## Wade County (Jun 22, 2003)

If he was playing 35 mins at PF a game, he'd be at 17/7 or 18/8 right now. The fact he spends half a game there really annoys me. His strengths are completely nullified at the SF - his quickness and agility are elite for a PF, not so for a SF.

Still, if we are to pick up a Bosh or an Amare in 2010 - he's gonna need to play SF parttime regardless...so I guess its best if he does learn to atleast spot fill that position.


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## Wade County (Jun 22, 2003)

Update on Beas' 30 minutes and above stats:

19.1 Points
7.6 Rebounds
1.3 Assists
1.8 Turnovers
0.5 Blocks
0.9 Steals
35.6 Minutes

In 22 games.


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## Wade2Bosh (Mar 31, 2004)

Mike's season averages are starting to look better and better

16.0 PPG on 45.6%(25.6% from 3)
6.7 RPG
1.2APG

He raised his 3pt % by 7% after this last game :laugh:

Last month and a half he's around 17/7/47%. Just imagine how high they'd be if he played as well in 2nd halves, as he does in 1st


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## Jace (Sep 26, 2005)

MB30 said:


> When Beas gets over 30 minutes, his stats are (13 games):
> 
> 17.7 points
> 7.3 rebounds
> ...





MB30 said:


> Update on Beas' 30 minutes and above stats:
> 
> 19.1 Points
> 7.6 Rebounds
> ...


He's getting buckets.


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## Wade County (Jun 22, 2003)

By seasons end he should be at or near the 17/7 we expected of him. He had a good December, now lets see him carry it on for the rest of the season.

If he was getting 35+ minutes a night, he'd probably be higher. Likewise if he played all the game at PF, id say his averages would be higher. It bugs me that we dont really know what to do with him - we seem to only really have that 1 play for him, where he gets a screen and posts up on the right wing - then its an iso.

Surely for a guy who can score in so many different ways, we should be able to get a little creative. Havent seen as many dunks of late, either.


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## Jace (Sep 26, 2005)

Watching replay of last night's game, it's pitiful how we use him at SF. The fact that we play him there alone sucks, but if we're going to do it, why not utilize him properly from the position? Yes, they're running plays for him, but why strictly run perimeter isos when Beasley's got a much smaller, quicker player in Cartier Martin guarding him? He's looked great posting up guards and smaller wing players from the 3 at different times during the season. This team has a blossoming scoring master showing his array of tricks in front of them and they still can't figure out how to use him.


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## Wade County (Jun 22, 2003)

Good point Jace, we managed to get Wade down on the block against Ellis last night - I dont know why we cant do the same for Beas when he's got the smaller player on him. We saw him light up Mo Evans in playoffs last year when that happened...we really need to get an offensive coordinator in to sort us out...


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## Wade County (Jun 22, 2003)

Mike has scored 20+ in 6 of his 10 games in January.

If we disregard his 5pt stinker against Boston, stats for Jan would be:

19.6ppg
6.7rpg
1.5apg
0.9spg
0.4bpg
33.7mpg
21/31 ft = 68%
10/19 3fg = 53%
73/144 fg = 51%










Our 21 yr old PF is becoming "Beastly"


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## Wade County (Jun 22, 2003)

Is anyone else dissapointing that Mike's only getting 31 minutes per game, halfway through the season?

It certaintly feels that this season should be all about developing him as that 2nd option, giving him 34-35 a night should see him do that.

Last season, Mike averaged 24.8 minutes per game. Udonis averaged 34.1.

Personally, I think those numbers should be reversed this season and we'd be better off. No disrespect to UD - its just what we need.


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## PoetLaureate (Feb 8, 2009)

MB30 said:


> Is anyone else dissapointing that Mike's only getting 31 minutes per game, halfway through the season?
> 
> It certaintly feels that this season should be all about developing him as that 2nd option, giving him 34-35 a night should see him do that.
> 
> ...


This is like, the story of the season. Lets make it totally obvious that this year means nothing, and then limit the playing time of the one guy that fans want to watch most. SWEET!


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## Jace (Sep 26, 2005)

You two are quite right. It's laughable what this team is trying to do. I'm just hoping Spo is saying these issues will be long forgotten in a couple of years because Beasley will no longer be yo-yo'ed around, not because he's been traded. Just think, as long as we keep Beasley and Wade signs back on, we're at least lucky to have those two guys, and that our coaching and FO complaints are related mostly to playing time and a lack of moves, respectively, as opposed to some of the horrors other team's fans go through.


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## Smithian (Apr 3, 2006)

Again, I'm praying that if Wade had signed on the dotted line, Spoelstra would be handling this situation differently.


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## sknydave (Apr 27, 2006)

I initially thought they were playing Haslem so much so that they could attract a deal, but I really don't know what is going on over there anymore.


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