1. Greg Whittington
A fan favorite during the preseason, Whittington didn’t make the final roster in large part because the Heat figured they had enough depth in the front court.
Fast forward to now. Josh McRoberts hasn’t played since Dec. 9, Amar’e Stoudemire hasn’t made as much as an impact as initially expected, and Chris Andersen–as we learned in the Pacers game–is unplayable.
The Heat have Stokes as a deep reserve right now, but Stokes and Whittington are strikingly different players at the 4. Stokes is a hustle guy, someone who will rebound the ball and get points at or near the rim. Whittington, while being outperformed statistically by Stokes, has a shooting stroke that is more a fit for the NBA.
Whittington is averaging 15.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, while shooting 42.8 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from 3-point range (on nearly six attempts per game).
If the Heat liked what they saw in the preseason (they did) and in the D-League, and are searching for an impact player to take a few minutes off the plates of veterans Udonis Haslem and Stoudemire, Whittington could be the guy.
Next: 3-Point Specialist