It’s a little too late to wrest Rookie of the Year away from Derrick Rose, but Michael Beasley’s late-season run has him playing better than any rook in the League heading into the playoffs.
Overshadowed by D-Wade’s double-nickel, Beasley dropped 28 points and 16 boards against the Knicks yesterday, capping a three-game stretch against New Orleans, Boston and New York where he averaged 25 and 12. Beasley has been more aggressive going to the basket than he was at the start of the season, which has opened things up for his reliable mid-range jumper and made him the offensive weapon everyone expected when he came out of college.
Another big difference? Playing time; Beasley has been playing 38-40 minutes a night lately, opposed to his season average of about 24-25 minutes. Miami coach Erik Spoelstra to the Miami Herald:
”Offensively, he’s finding his rhythm — he’s finding his groove,” Spoelstra said. “He’s getting better with the reps and these are critical minutes right now. You can’t back up now. Can he continue to build on this and not relax?”
Beasley is likely to return to his sixth-man role for the playoffs. But he is confident that he will continue to produce at a high level as long as he plays consistent minutes.
Whether he comes off the bench or starts, the Heat need Beasley to keep it up if they stand a chance at advancing in the playoffs. Jermaine O’Neal got hurt (calf) in the first half of yesterday’s game and sat out the second half, and Udonis Haslem (finger) is also banged-up.
Going into Miami’s first-round series against Atlanta (the Heat also play Atlanta tomorrow), 20-and-10s from Beasley will do a lot against a higher-seeded Hawks team that’s 30-10 at home. When the Knicks finally started double-teaming D-Wade after he’d scored his 55th point on Sunday, Beasley took over, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and pulling down six rebounds.
Source: Miami Herald
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