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Signed in the offseason with the expectation of providing a playoff counter to Roy Hibbert, Greg Oden could only watch from behind the bench in a suit during Sunday's 107-96 loss to the Indiana Pacers, the hulking Miami Heat center inactive for Game 1 of these Eastern Conference finals.

As Oden looked on, Hibbert scored 19 points, got to the foul line for a game-high 13 free throws and grabbed nine-rebounds. His contribution helped boost the Pacers to a 38-29 rebounding advantage and 29-point scoring edge from the foul line.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra cited back spasms that had sidelined Oden late in the season, even though he returned for the regular-season finale and then was on the active roster for the postseason-opening 4-0 sweep of the Charlotte Bobcats, with Michael Beasley made inactive for those games.

"After the back, he's been working really to get back out on the court. In the last week or ten days, he's really been able to amp up his workouts," Spoelstra said, with Oden saying in recent days that he was able to play and hopeful of seeing action against the Pacers. "I want him to have a couple more very tough workouts this week, and we'll evaluate him at the end of the week.

"He's feeling much better, and now he's finally getting back to the workload that he's been doing before. . . . He's just been able to really get his workload back up to where it was before he got hurt."

Oden has yet to appear this postseason, inactive for the entire second round against the Brooklyn Nets, and now against the Pacers in this best-of-seven series opener, as well.

Oden started the previous time the Heat played in Indiana, but was pulled six minutes into that loss, after yielding nine points to Hibbert. His only action since that March 26 appearance was in the April 16 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers that closed out the regular season.

dolphinatik wrote:down shift the lineup

Wade on Hill
Lebron on Stevenson
Bosh on George
Beasley on West
Oden on Hibbert

BIRDMAN BIRDMAN wrote:

dolphinatik wrote:down shift the lineup

Wade on Hill
Lebron on Stevenson
Bosh on George
Beasley on West
Oden on Hibbert

Sssshhhh quiet bro, didn't you get the memo.....mentioning Beasley around here these days is illegal

heatlespeatles wrote:I kept saying we need a back up plan to Oden and no one listened, even Ethan Skolnick in Twitter kept acting like he's the answer to all our problems smh

DivineFury wrote:

BIRDMAN BIRDMAN wrote:

dolphinatik wrote:down shift the lineup

Wade on Hill
Lebron on Stevenson
Bosh on George
Beasley on West
Oden on Hibbert

Sssshhhh quiet bro, didn't you get the memo.....mentioning Beasley around here these days is illegal

If you think Beasley will somehow help us...lol. I would think most Heat fans would of learned by now. He sucked in Miami, he sucked in Minnesota, he sucked in PHX, he sucks again in Miami. He is an unreliable, mentally weak player prone to boneheaded plays. Yes he has tons of raw talent, but that's like having a car with 1000 horsepower and no tires.

Beasley is what he is at this point. If we get desperate, sure throw him in. But if he is vital to our success, we are already screwed. Not to mention every time I see him I think of Westbrook, Love, and all the players that we could have had instead.

DivineFury wrote:

BIRDMAN BIRDMAN wrote:

dolphinatik wrote:down shift the lineup

Wade on Hill
Lebron on Stevenson
Bosh on George
Beasley on West
Oden on Hibbert

Sssshhhh quiet bro, didn't you get the memo.....mentioning Beasley around here these days is illegal

If you think Beasley will somehow help us...lol. I would think most Heat fans would of learned by now. He sucked in Miami, he sucked in Minnesota, he sucked in PHX, he sucks again in Miami. He is an unreliable, mentally weak player prone to boneheaded plays. Yes he has tons of raw talent, but that's like having a car with 1000 horsepower and no tires.

Beasley is what he is at this point. If we get desperate, sure throw him in. But if he is vital to our success, we are already screwed. Not to mention every time I see him I think of Westbrook, Love, and all the players that we could have had instead.

KingDavid wrote:

heatlespeatles wrote:I kept saying we need a back up plan to Oden and no one listened, even Ethan Skolnick in Twitter kept acting like he's the answer to all our problems smh

Whooooo???

heatlespeatles wrote:

KingDavid wrote:

heatlespeatles wrote:I kept saying we need a back up plan to Oden and no one listened, even Ethan Skolnick in Twitter kept acting like he's the answer to all our problems smh

Whooooo???

someone anyone, via trade or dleague. We needed size (doesn't even have to be skilled - just ability to defend) and we never pursued it after acquiring Oden. We seemingly had an obsession with acquiring wings all while we had a wing fermenting in Australia

KingDavid wrote:

DivineFury wrote:

BIRDMAN BIRDMAN wrote:
Sssshhhh quiet bro, didn't you get the memo.....mentioning Beasley around here these days is illegal

If you think Beasley will somehow help us...lol. I would think most Heat fans would of learned by now. He sucked in Miami, he sucked in Minnesota, he sucked in PHX, he sucks again in Miami. He is an unreliable, mentally weak player prone to boneheaded plays. Yes he has tons of raw talent, but that's like having a car with 1000 horsepower and no tires.

Beasley is what he is at this point. If we get desperate, sure throw him in. But if he is vital to our success, we are already screwed. Not to mention every time I see him I think of Westbrook, Love, and all the players that we could have had instead.

He didn't suck with us his first stint. He was underwhelming, yes. But he was a fun player alongside Wade and he could score. He was a bonehead but so was Rio. I'm still kind of down that we let him go. I really think he would have grown playing under LBJ but I understand wants vs needs. I went to that draft party at the arena when we signed Beasley. I met Daequan (sp??) and JJ and Wright. I think Diawara was there but I didn't get to meet him.

DivineFury wrote:

KingDavid wrote:

DivineFury wrote:
If you think Beasley will somehow help us...lol. I would think most Heat fans would of learned by now. He sucked in Miami, he sucked in Minnesota, he sucked in PHX, he sucks again in Miami. He is an unreliable, mentally weak player prone to boneheaded plays. Yes he has tons of raw talent, but that's like having a car with 1000 horsepower and no tires.

Beasley is what he is at this point. If we get desperate, sure throw him in. But if he is vital to our success, we are already screwed. Not to mention every time I see him I think of Westbrook, Love, and all the players that we could have had instead.

He didn't suck with us his first stint. He was underwhelming, yes. But he was a fun player alongside Wade and he could score. He was a bonehead but so was Rio. I'm still kind of down that we let him go. I really think he would have grown playing under LBJ but I understand wants vs needs. I went to that draft party at the arena when we signed Beasley. I met Daequan (sp??) and JJ and Wright. I think Diawara was there but I didn't get to meet him.

"Underwhelming" is a very nice way of putting it. I think he is far more of a bonehead than Rio. Otherwise we wouldn't have traded him away for junk. He doesn't help the locker room. He makes abysmally bad decisions on the court and off. The idea that he could mature under the right circumstances is just played out. He came here to a veteran squad with leadership, and didn't change. Went to two other different "environments" and flamed out just the same. I just can't buy the "he just needs the right situation" excuse anymore.

All those failed stints have one thing in common, Beasley being Beasley. Every team he has been on, in 2 years or less teams don't just give up on him, but actively try to dispose of him. There is a reason for that!

I'm not arguing that the dude doesn't have talent, he does! A lot actually. But outside of superstars, and he isn't one, you can't survive off that alone.

KingDavid wrote:

DivineFury wrote:

KingDavid wrote:He didn't suck with us his first stint. He was underwhelming, yes. But he was a fun player alongside Wade and he could score. He was a bonehead but so was Rio. I'm still kind of down that we let him go. I really think he would have grown playing under LBJ but I understand wants vs needs. I went to that draft party at the arena when we signed Beasley. I met Daequan (sp??) and JJ and Wright. I think Diawara was there but I didn't get to meet him.

"Underwhelming" is a very nice way of putting it. I think he is far more of a bonehead than Rio. Otherwise we wouldn't have traded him away for junk. He doesn't help the locker room. He makes abysmally bad decisions on the court and off. The idea that he could mature under the right circumstances is just played out. He came here to a veteran squad with leadership, and didn't change. Went to two other different "environments" and flamed out just the same. I just can't buy the "he just needs the right situation" excuse anymore.

All those failed stints have one thing in common, Beasley being Beasley. Every team he has been on, in 2 years or less teams don't just give up on him, but actively try to dispose of him. There is a reason for that!

I'm not arguing that the dude doesn't have talent, he does! A lot actually. But outside of superstars, and he isn't one, you can't survive off that alone.

Really? The squads he's played for; a young Miami, Minny, PHX all had kids and scrubs on their rosters. I'm not making excuses for him because he was boneheaded, I wholeheartedly agree with you there. But how much maturity do you expect one notoriously immature guy to gain by playing with a bunch of kids and sorry coaches and sorry teams? I would have been surprised if he became mature. But how much trouble has he gotten into since he's been back? That's what I'm looking at. I think being on a real team with real vets has him under control. He doesn't play because he doesn't fit in our system yet. He needs time to adjust. It's why he looks lost on D sometimes when he is out there. I think he could be in the mix of things with an offseason and summer camp.

We were NOT a veteran squad playing for a chip in 2008-2010. We were Wade, UD, a Marion we traded away, washed up/hurt vets looking for a check and a bunch of trash. The reason for that was for our big 3, I know.

KingDavid wrote:

heatlespeatles wrote:

KingDavid wrote:Whooooo???

someone anyone, via trade or dleague. We needed size (doesn't even have to be skilled - just ability to defend) and we never pursued it after acquiring Oden. We seemingly had an obsession with acquiring wings all while we had a wing fermenting in Australia

We don't have time to develop players though so scratch out the D-League. We can't make trades because that would have demolished chemistry among the group. There's no one we could have traded for. We have no pieces. Teams would be reluctant to help us as well.

DivineFury wrote:

KingDavid wrote:

DivineFury wrote:
"Underwhelming" is a very nice way of putting it. I think he is far more of a bonehead than Rio. Otherwise we wouldn't have traded him away for junk. He doesn't help the locker room. He makes abysmally bad decisions on the court and off. The idea that he could mature under the right circumstances is just played out. He came here to a veteran squad with leadership, and didn't change. Went to two other different "environments" and flamed out just the same. I just can't buy the "he just needs the right situation" excuse anymore.

All those failed stints have one thing in common, Beasley being Beasley. Every team he has been on, in 2 years or less teams don't just give up on him, but actively try to dispose of him. There is a reason for that!

I'm not arguing that the dude doesn't have talent, he does! A lot actually. But outside of superstars, and he isn't one, you can't survive off that alone.

Really? The squads he's played for; a young Miami, Minny, PHX all had kids and scrubs on their rosters. I'm not making excuses for him because he was boneheaded, I wholeheartedly agree with you there. But how much maturity do you expect one notoriously immature guy to gain by playing with a bunch of kids and sorry coaches and sorry teams? I would have been surprised if he became mature. But how much trouble has he gotten into since he's been back? That's what I'm looking at. I think being on a real team with real vets has him under control. He doesn't play because he doesn't fit in our system yet. He needs time to adjust. It's why he looks lost on D sometimes when he is out there. I think he could be in the mix of things with an offseason and summer camp.

We were NOT a veteran squad playing for a chip in 2008-2010. We were Wade, UD, a Marion we traded away, washed up/hurt vets looking for a check and a bunch of trash. The reason for that was for our big 3, I know.

I guess I will just always view him as unreliable. I remember even on the Suns last year, he screwed up a fastbreak with 3 on 1 by literally passing it to the defender. Out of 4 guys he could have passed to, he somehow decided the one guy on the other team was best option. That's not an absence of vets and guidance, that's an absence of brain.

Outside of being capable of offering more than Lewis, I would never, ever play him.