Evolving Big Men
Whiteside’s claim after the game was the question of why the Heat bother matching up with the other team, as opposed to simply dictating the style of play by sending him out there, forcing someone smaller to guard him. In theory, that sounds beneficial, but the risk/reward of allowing Whiteside to defend someone like Carroll out on the perimeter is an irresponsible coaching move.
The Nets, just like many other teams, go small to render Whiteside unplayable (the Nets attempted 19 3-pointers in the second half alone), forcing all five defenders to be capable perimeter defenders, which Whiteside is not.
Against the Nets, the Heat’s starting lineup sported a -13.3 net rating in 12 minutes together, the team’s second most used lineup that night. While that isn’t the fault of Whiteside alone, his four highest two-man combinations from that night all had negative net ratings.
As the center position evolves, more traditional centerpieces like Whiteside become less and less effective. Kevin Love and Anthony Davis have hurt Whiteside with their perimeter game, meanwhile Joel Embiid has the shooting combined with the agility in the post to give him trouble.
More than that, Spoelstra’s system is not (and has never been) reliant on a dominant center, but rather versatile bigs who can stretch the floor with their shooting, pass well and defend on the perimeter. It is a system predicated on ball movement, floor spacing and quick defensive rotations.
Whiteside doesn’t fit that mold and to tie up $23 million in cap space at a position that is low impact within the team’s system, remains an irresponsible practice.
Next: Miami Heat: Looking at the other side of Hassan Whiteside's recent comments
The Heat have stayed committed to developing Whiteside. This season has shown those efforts have fallen on deaf ears.