Hassan Whiteside calls Charlotte Hornets “floppers”

The Miami Heat may be back in the playoffs after being eliminated from the postseason last year, but that does not mean that it has been an easy ride for them so far. Currently behind 3-2 to the Charlotte Hornets, the first round still isn’t over.

While the Heat were able to start things off strong, first grabbing a commanding 123-91 win in Game 1 and then outworking the Hornets 115-103 in Game 2, they have not been successful on the road.

Game 3 resulted in a 96-80 loss, with Game 4 coming down to the wire but ending up with Charlotte coming out ahead 89-85. Then Game 5 was a disappointing but close matchup.

So what gives?

Well, according to big man Hassan Whiteside, the Hornets are flopping.

"“I thought this was the playoffs,” Whiteside told the media after Game 4. “Isn’t this supposed to be physical basketball? I thought the playoffs were more physical. This is the flop-offs, man. … I don’t even want to get on the calls. I got nothing to say. That’s crazy.”"

And when asked about what has gotten him into foul trouble and what he can do to avoid that moving forward, he answered:

"“I don’t know, man. I really don’t. I don’t even have an answer for it. I don’t know. I just have to play the best defense. I can just talk to [the refs] and ask them.”"

Whiteside is not the only Miami player to voice concern about the officiating either. Goran Dragic, who too has found himself in foul trouble, explained how he felt about the situation.

"“In playoff games, when every possession matters, you’re fighting thought screens, you’re doing so much stuff that sometimes it feels like they give us those penalties, but on the other side it’s nothing. It’s tough.”"

Most of Heat Nation also agrees that there have been a lot of missed calls lately.

Even Dwyane Wade’s wife herself, took to Twitter to express her frustration. Piggybacking off of Reggie Jackson’s point that officials should be punished for bad calls, she wrote:

And then in Game 5… well…

However, despite these claims being true, they are not the only reason the Heat are down 3-2. Nor is this series the only one experiencing poor officiating. For example, Game 5 of the Toronto Raptors vs. Indiana Pacers series also had its fair share of problems.

But Miami and Charlotte did split the season series 2-2. And the Heat have also not been great on the road this year period, finishing 20-21.

Additionally, there is the fact that guys like Whiteside, Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson are inexperienced when it comes to the playoffs and the pressures that come along with it. Plus this is the first year this Miami team has even gotten to the postseason, which some could argue takes time to get used to. The group has also gone through multiple starting rotations and lineups this season, due to injuries, wanted adjustments from head coach Erik Spoelstra, and so on.

Although it would be great if the referees did change their ways regarding fair calls, relying on that is unrealistic. Nor would it guarantee success anyways. In order for the Heat to successfully move onto the next round, Spoelstra needs to strike the right balance of talent with each lineup change, while the guys need to trust not only each other, but themselves as well. There are still a lot of nerves out there, that unfortunately hinder great level of play.

More heat: Heat Check Podcast Ep. 53: What can the Miami heat do differently?

Miami came in fourth in field goal percentage, so it is no secret that they are an offensively strong team. Now, they just need to play like it. And try and ignore the at best mediocre officiating.