Hassan Whiteside
On the surface, Whiteside’s numbers this season are certainly all-star worthy. Posting 17.4 points, 14.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, Whiteside is clearly one of the most dominant interior players in the game. And for someone who signed a $94 million contract this past summer, these are sort of numbers the Heat would’ve been expecting for their investment.
But when breaking down Whiteside’s numbers further, there have been some notable areas of concern. With his supreme athleticism and instincts for the ball, Whiteside’s status as a daunting defensive presence would presumably be unquestioned. But when breaking down the metrics, the Heat have actually performed better defensive with Whiteside on the pine.
The Heat have so far allowed 106.0 points per 100 possessions when Whiteisde is manning the middle. This number however drops to 102.5 when he’s having a rest. So despite leading the league in rebounding and ranking fifth in blocked shots, the Heat have statistically been a superior defensive unit without Whiteside.
Furthermore, another interesting stat arises for Whiteside, this time on the other end of the floor. Whiteside has thus far scored 19 or more points on 16 occasions this season. The Heat have a 2-14 record in these contests. While this particular stat is difficult to put a finger on, it simply brings into the question the overall impact Whiteside is actually having on the teams’ success.
However with the team at 12-30, it can be quite hard to gauge how much of this can be blamed on Whiteside, or with the rest of the team.
Check out the highlights below of one of Whiteside’s most impressive games this season. Matched against rookie sensation Joel Embiid, Whiteside notched 32 points and 13 rebounds on 13-of-19 from the field in an eventual loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.