For the Miami Heat, Hassan Whiteside’s act could grow tired

Hassan Whiteside has made a dramatic rise in his short time with the Miami Heat. But don’t let his counting stats cover up that it remains to be seen if Whiteside is the true definition of a “Heat player”.

On the surface, Hassan Whiteside’s numbers this season are ultra-impressive. 16.8 points, 14.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. Also, Whiteside is shooting 56.1 percent from the field in his 32.9 minutes per game. Having signed a $94 million contract this past offseason, it can be easily argued that Whiteside has lived up to the Heat’s large investment.

Last season, Whiteside was named to the NBA all-defensive second team. Considering this was essentially his first full season in the league, it was a tremendous achievement. And although Whiteside is averaging a career high in rebounds, and is fourth in the league in blocks, his true impact on the defensive end has not quite matched the basic counting stats.

During his breakout season last year, the Heat allowed 101.7 points per 100 possessions when Whiteside was on the floor. When he was off the court, this number 101.4 points.

The numbers this year, however, changed noticeably. When Whiteside has been on the floor, the Heat are allowing 106.0 points per 100 possessions. But when he is resting, the Heat are allowing just 101.7 points per 100 possessions.

There can be a lot of factors that come into this. One, the Heat aren’t as strong this season, meaning Whiteside’s overall time spent on the court may not pan out as favorably, numbers-wise.

Also, Whiteside started in just 43 out of 73 games last season. Of course this meant he was coming up against the opposing teams second unit’s, giving him even more opportunity to dominate on both ends of the court.

For a player leading the league in rebounding, is equal sixth in double-doubles with 36 and has scored 20 or more points on 19 occasions, questioning Whiteside’s overall impact on the surface may seem slightly bewildering.

But there is a reason Whiteside bounced around the world to commence his career – Lebanon, China, the D-League, stints with the Sacramento Kings and the Memphis Grizzlies. It was his maturity level.

Or lack thereof.

In Whiteside’s defense: if you Google “Hassan Whiteside maturity” or “Hassan Whiteside attitude”, the most recent matches you’re going to find are from the 2015-16 season. And most of these related to multiple times Whiteside was ejected for getting into unnecessary altercations during the course of a game.

But while the ejections have not appeared this season, the “old” Whiteside unfortunately does rear its ugly head from time to time.