For our first post, we'll be discussing a poster on Ira Winderman's Miami HEAT blog that goes by the name of "Mike". Mike is what is known as a Hybrid Homer / Troll, quickly able to change forms depending on what the situation calls for, ie Did Beasley have a bad night? Did Haslem have a good night? How many minutes / touches did Beasley get? Did Beasley sit out two minutes longer than he should have? etc.
Let's start by looking at two posts that show off the awesome power of this "Daywalker" and break down the million ways he is wrong:
Mike says:Let's start with "Haslem is f*cking up Miami Heat team." If you don't know by now, Udonis Haslem is the PF that in 2006 helped the Miami HEAT win it's only championship in team history. This season, he has been a big reason why the Heat are lucky to be at 28-27 rather than 18-37, with Dwyane Wade seriously contemplating leaving Miami. His performance in the 4th quarter, where Beasley has failed to prove himself as a reliable closer, has been big throughout the season and is becoming such a common occurrence that no one is surprised by it anymore. Haslem has also been a mentor to Beasley and there were articles published that showcases the close relationship that him and Beasley have, with quotes from Michael Beasley himself to back up this point. In fact, if you look around other forums and ask NBA personnel and analysts, they will all tell you they are fans of Udonis Haslem and what he brings to the table. To say that "Udonis Haslem is f*cking up the Miami Heat" just goes to show the awesome Troll powers that little Mikey possesses. BTW, the name "Mike" might be a incognito way of showing his affection for Michael Beasley, but that's neither here nor there.Haslem is f*cking up Miami Heat team and he’s the reason the Heat are not improving since last year, how do the Heat expect to improve and their second best player watching from the bench in the fourth quarters.
Now, let's look at the Homer side of Mikey:
"The Heat won't have to face a 7ft (powerforward) superstar every night and Beasley still played good." This is what we talk about when we say "excuse making." Instead of accepting limitations and not making a big deal of it, little Mikey is trying to convince the world (but more importantly, himself) that Beasley's height deficiency is nothing to worry about and that playing defense is not something that should be a concern for an NBA PF. Apparently, little Mikey doesn't understand that PF is one of the more loaded positions in the NBA, with the average height being 6'10-6'11, with those players having better athleticism than Michael Beasley. But as long as he himself is convinced (and attempting to convince the world), that seems to be good enough for Mikey.Mike says:
Beasley had to guard a 7 footer superstar it’s not like if the Heat had to face PF like him everynight and he still played good, the whole league face that problem when playing Dallas.
Beasley is doing great and is our second superstar next to Wade that’s why all the teams wanted him in a trade, i haven’t heard that 1 team wanted Haslem why? i can tell you because he’s worthless. Haslem sucks and he’s the reason Miami Heat not improving this year, i don’t blame Beasley for any game Miami Heat loses until i see him playing at least 10 minutes in the 4th quarter. If the Heat didn’t have Haslem this year we would be plus 10 wins.
"Beasley is doing great" --- STOP. Beasley is not "doing great," because the word "doing" suggests consistency in whatever it was being used. Beasley is far from consistent, earning the nickname "B-Consistent" from NBA analyst and former player Reggie Miller. Clearly this sentence is doomed to fail the minute it was typed.
"and is our second superstar next to Wade" Only based on his age and upside; this argument can be debunked. First of all, 16/6 doesn't make anyone in this league a superstar. Maybe on the Miami HEAT that makes you a superstar, but even then, that is questionable at best. Second, why is little Mikey overlooking Jermaine O'neal, who's play recently has been better and more consistent than Beasley's? Lastly, just because one piece of crap smells better than another, doesn't make it any less of a piece of crap.
"that's why all teams want (Beasley) in a trade" So that's why the Heat currently have Chris Bosh on their roster right now and not Michael Beasley. Because if everyone is knocking on Pat Riley's front door for Beasley, the Heat would have Amare or Bosh by now. Did I mention how the Chicago Bulls had the #1 pick and were in desperate need of a scoring PF, but chose to bypass Beasley for PG-Derrick Rose instead? Or how Team USA twice has denied Michael Beasley the opportunity to even tryout when other "inferior players" (to quote the Beasley Homers) were invited and made the team? Alas, not many GMs are breaking down Pat Riley's door and offering their best pieces in hopes that we'll part with Beasley, and the Heat are forced to sit on Beasley and hope he pans out to be a *consistent* All-Star in this league.
"i haven’t heard that 1 team wanted Haslem why? i can tell you because he’s worthless. Haslem sucks and he’s the reason Miami Heat not improving this year, i don’t blame Beasley for any game Miami Heat loses until i see him playing at least 10 minutes in the 4th quarter. If the Heat didn’t have Haslem this year we would be plus 10 wins." In order to wrap up this blog entry, and because little Mikey comes loaded with redundancy, I decided to go after the remaining chunk of his post and discuss it. First off, when it comes to arguments and debate, this is what we call "Red Herring." For those who don't know, Red Herring is when an irrelevant topic is presented (ex: Spo/Haslem sucks) in order to divert attention from the original issue (ex: Michael Beasley is underachieving). Politicians, for example, are often guilty of red herring. In this case, little Mikey is trying to divert everyone's attention on Michael Beasley by pointing to a player's trade value and reason for their 27-26 record, in this case, Udonis. Mikey has bigger expectations from the undrafted PF, with arguably the most cost effective contract for a non-rookie, than he does from the #2 pick in the draft who was supposed to help Dwyane Wade anchor back this Miami Heat franchise from obscurity, while earning an equal salary as Haslem. He then says that Haslem has no trade value, which is easily debatable in it self. While not a superstar, Haslem does have interest in a niche market for teams that need to compliment their scoring bigs with a PF that can play defense / rebound / hit open shots that the big creates. For example, a team like the Orlando Magic with Stan Van Gundy will surely go after Udonis in the offseason and the Utah Jazz were interested in Udonis Haslem before they re-signed Paul Milsap. Of course, Udonis will not nab you an All-Star or Superstar in a trade, but to understate his value and his impact to a team is a classic case of ignorance.
Sorry for the long blog posts and I promise to keep it short and simple next time, while making more blog entries showcasing the homerism of Beasley fans.
