How well can Miami Heat stars Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside work together?
The Miami Heat now have two stars they can rely on to work together, to change their season around. Hassan Whiteside couldn’t get it done alone, but now with Dwyane Wade, can they succeed?
Of course, it goes without saying those aren’t the only stars on that team.
Recently selected All-Star Goran Dragic is in the mix, but his style of game at the point demands more of a leadership role, with more responsibilities and distribution to handle. For this case, Wade and Whiteside are the main topic that begs the question, can they and will they work well together?
They did play two seasons together when Miami picked up Whiteside, until Wade decided to join his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls. In that span, they did manage to create some great plays and build a solid pick-and-roll chemistry, that had since faded when they saw LeBron James’ departure.
Not to neglect the other Heat guards, but their vision is not at the level of Father Prime. Wade just has more years and experience under his belt. His first three games back, he quickly saw the potential for both Whiteside and now rookie Bam Adebayo, and took advantage to connect on those missed pick-and-roll situations that they needed to bring back.
Dwyane Wade lobs it up to Hassan Whiteside! #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/q4imAtjrRs
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) February 10, 2018
Thought an underrated aspect of the Wade trade was an ability to re-ignite Whiteside in P&R. As @CoupNBA pointed out last night, Wade's passing will be a plus for Miami. You can see here defenses still respect him in P&R, Whiteside rolls hard, weakside corner respects Ellington pic.twitter.com/2BNYmeENGV
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) February 10, 2018
Hassan Whiteside has seen a dip in his productivity from last season, and that can all be attested to his role within the team.
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They needed a leadership role from him and a more aggressive approach within the paint. He hasn’t quite found that this year, averaging 14.2 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, down from 17.0 and 14.1 last year. Injuries have also derailed his productivity, but now can bring it back up with the help of Flash.
Wade needs to adapt his game to bring out the best of Hassan. He can definitely do that and we’ve seen glimpses of that in the first games. They both need a more aggressive approach offensively, and if they can continue this, they can space the whole floor setting up shooters.
It won’t only be a Wade to Whiteside connection. There’s more than meets the eye if they can pull this off how most fans envision.
The only issue that can really break this are two things: Wade’s turnovers and Whitesides egotistical approach with those lobs.
Sometimes, Whiteside sticks with the ball for too long that they defend and box him out, leading to a costly turnover. This needs to be a more practiced and faster play. On the bright side, they won’t have a rookie or sophomore lacking experience to create this to perfection. They will have future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade as the creator.
This combo can become a threat individually, and as a team. They just need to learn to play well off each other and learn their respective strengths.
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If they can achieve that, then expect Miami to become the next lob city in the league.