Michael Beasley scored the first points of the game on a jump shot. Then, he stole the ball and went the length of the court for a beastly jam. He then shot a turnaround, fade-away jumper. Swish. Beasley turned to Keith Askins -- he had six points in the first three minutes of the game.
Beasley finished with 19 points on eight-of-16 shooting from the field and two-for-four from downtown. Beasley also grabbed five rebounds and improved in the foul and turnover departments -- with two apiece. And he did it all in just 25 minutes. Beasley seemed to make everything look so smooth and effortless. The scoring machine in college has been challenged by summer league coach Keith Askins to develop other facets of his game. He has.
Russell Westbrook got out to a quick start for Oklahoma City. His crossover never failed, as he was able to get to the basket at will. The fourth overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft made it to the free-throw line 10 times and finished with 19 points on seven-of-12 shooting. Despite Westbrook's play, Mario Chalmers, Beasley, and Kasib Powell managed the Heat to hang in there for the entire first quarter. The game was tied at 23 at the end of the first stanza of play.
From then on, the Miami Heat ran away with it.
Michael Beasley continued to dominate in the second quarter, including connecting on a picture-perfect and-one. Chalmers had a quiet night, but still managed to score 11 points on just five field goal attempts. Super Mario wasn't as aggressive in games past, but did develop more chemistry with his teammates. That will be more along the lines of what Chalmers will be asked to do this upcoming season with Dwyane Wade. With Wade and Beasley scoring off the dribble, Chalmers could develop some nice pick-and-roll action with his teammates.
Outside of Beasley and Chalmers, there were other players who stood up to contribute to Miami's easy win. One of the players I have been most impressed with is Stephane Lasme. He has a great shot to make the team and may become a solid rotation player down the road. Lasme has shown he can defend by developing a nice shot-blocking game. Lasme's jump shot also looks very fluid. He is also a workhorse reminiscent of Udonis Haslem. The 6'8" forward scored 14 points on just five field goal attempts and made it to the charity stripe seven times in just 16 minutes of action.
Another player who has done well night-in and night-out of this summer league is Kasib Powell. The 6'7" forward has shown an ability to shoot three-pointers as well as cut to the basket. He never gets lazy on the floor, especially in the fast-break. Powell finished with 10 points on four-of-eight shooting. I expect him to make the cut as well.
Anthony Morrow can flat out shoot. Morrow connected on three triples on his way to 16 points. It's unfortunate Miami already has Dwyane Wade and Daequan Cook at that position. As I've said before, you have to give the edge to Cook right now because he's the one that has proved himself on legitimate NBA talent. I can't see Morrow anything more than a third-string shooting guard if he makes the team.
The 3-1 Heat will wrap up their summer league against the Magic at 7:00pm.
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