Michael Beasley has not turned into the star that the Miami Heat hoped he would, but he is putting up some very decent numbers for the Heat this season.  He is averaging 16.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.9 steals with a 46% FG percentage.  Beasley has provided some relief for Dwayne Wade on the offensive end, but the Heat need him to get more rebounds and play better defense.  He is also only hitting 26% of his threes, and on bad shooting nights it seems as if it affects his whole game and he lacks intensity, especially defensively.  His lack of effort on the defensive end has often cost him playing time.  He is playing 31 minutes per night, but I think Beasley is capable of playing closer to 40.  Beasley has not developed as quickly as most hoped or thought he would, and his personal life has a lot to do with that.  As Beasley gets older and more mature, I think he will continue to improve on the court.  Hopefully sooner rather than later for the Miami Heat’s sake, as he could play a key role in whether or not Dwayne Wade leaves after this season as a free agent.

The Heat have decided to switch Carlos Arroyo and Mario Chalmers roles as of late with Arroyo getting the starts. Arroyo has played in 28 games (8 starts) this season for the Heat and he is averaging 17.3 minutes, 5.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Mario Chalmers has played in 30 games (22 starts) this season for the Heat and he is averaging 8.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Personally I think that Chalmers is the better player here but the Heat need to try to shake things up and I think that was the reason that this change was made.

The Heat need Jason Williams to shoot better and make teams pay for packing the paint to stop D-Wade and Shaq. He’s only shooting 37.7% from the floor and that just won’t get the job done. Williams is averaging 33.8 minutes so far this season and he’s only scoring 9.2 points per game. The Heat need more from Williams if they are to turn their season around soon.

Shaq has said in the past that he cruises during the regular season to save energy for the playoffs. He will need to change his tune this season or there won’t be any playoffs because the Heat don’t have a lot of talent. The Heat will only go as far as D-Wade and Shaq take them. Shaq has played in 14 games this season and he has averaged 28.7 minutes, 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 2.1 blocks per game. Without an inspired Shaq the Heat’s season will be over in mid-April.

James Posey has been pretty awful so far in April for the Heat.  He’s played in 7 games and he’s averaged 6.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  Posey is only shooting 33.3% from the floor and he’s only hit 4 of 15 (26.7%) from three point range.  The Heat really will need Posey’s shooting to return if they are to make a deep run into the playoffs this season.