What type of plays would benefit Whiteside the most, and would he run them?
Rahming: I would love to say the dribble handoff from the pinch post, with him getting the option to hand off or to turn and drive to the basket. Currently, Kelly Olynyk is the only person who they run this play with. The Heat don’t even get into the same set as the KO Keeper, with Whiteside on the floor. I do believe that if head coach Erik Spoelstra were willing to make Whiteside more of a focal point in the offense, there are a couple more options available for him. There are a few prerequisites for this to occur though. Whiteside would need to improve his 15-19 foot jump shot, improve his ball handling skills (at least to the level of Olynyk’s), and management would need to surround him with more shooters. Imagine any of the drive happy ball handlers on the roster, running a pick and roll while having Whiteside set the screen… Right now, the only outcome of this play is a lob for Whiteside. But with an improved midrange jump shot, this could easily turn into a pick and short roll situation, as long as Whiteside doesn’t hesitate to take the shot. As I mentioned earlier, the KO Keeper could quickly become the Great Wall Keeper, if he were to tighten up his handle. Currently, he only seems to be comfortable dribbling when in the open court. Fastbreak points are great, but when you need to run a half-court set, those handles could come in handy for a couple of possessions.
Ebrahim: As stated before, my answer would easily be running the high P&R and hoping he maintains the defensive switch long enough to send him the ball on the post, if he hasn’t gotten it through a lob aimed towards the hoop. It would be interesting to see (and hopefully engaging to him) if the Heat ran more of a pick and pop with him near the top of the key. If the shot isn’t there, a handoff/pseudo second pick and roll could easily come, with a ball handler slashing around the big man. I’d imagine he’d be more open to running these, especially since he’s been asking to take more jump shots (at least he is on social media). In all honesty, I really believe he wants to be used like Olynyk is, but his skill set doesn’t exactly allow for it. However, using an opponent’s knowledge of his love for the P&R, it feels like this could leave them unprepared, if his shot matches his confidence.