The Miami Heat need to move on from Hassan Whiteside

The Rant

All was quiet on the Whiteside front until Saturday night, as the center worked his way back from a nagging hip injury, yet another issue in a challenging season. And now the Miami Heat have something that is rarely associated with them: a disgruntled franchise player handling his discontent publicly.

When Whiteside inked a four-year, $98 million max contract in 2016, it came with the expectation of massive improvements and growth over the years to come. Last season, the Heat saw that. They were generally better with him on the floor during the 77 games he played, on his way to a season averaging 17 points and 14 rebounds to go along with two blocks.

This season has been a concerning regression.

Injuries combined with an enhanced frontcourt rotation has challenged Whiteside’s ability and demanded he impact the game the way the Heat have asked him to. In his 49 games, the Heat have a -2.7 net rating with him on the floor, compared to 2.3 with him off.

Whiteside’s main gripe is that he doesn’t play late in games, which is statistically true. He’s played in just 29 fourth quarters for a total of 170 minutes. Olynyk has logged 486 while Adebayo is at 327. But the issue isn’t favoritism or any sort of grade school tactic, it’s simple basketball schematics.

In the fourth quarter and overtime of the loss to the Nets, the tallest players on the floor for the opposition were 6-foot-8 DeMarre Carroll and Dante Cunningham. The Heat countered with a versatile lineup of their own featuring James Johnson and Justise Winslow as the frontcourt players.

So let’s take a closer look at the game.