Miami Heat: 13 player grades for the first half of the regular season

11 of 14

MIAMI, FL – JANUARY 08: Hassan Whiteside #21 of the Miami Heat reacts against the Denver Nuggets during the second half at American Airlines Arena on January 8, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Miami Heat. HASSAN WHITESIDE. C+. . C

The Miami Heat big man Hassan Whiteside has been one of the more frustrating players to watch in the history of basketball.

A player with Whiteside’s athleticism and potential at the center position would make any general manager foam at the mouth, even with his resilience from playing in China to all over the D-League, to finally making it big in the NBA.

However, it is the inconsistent nature of Whiteside’s work ethic that has halted any improvement for the big man over the past few years since signing his massive contract that is currently paying him $25 million. Averaging 12.7 PPG with 12.5 TRB to go along with 2.5 BLKS each game may be a solid stat line at face value, but the mental lapses of Whiteside has made him a liability at times, forcing Spo’s hand to bench him.

The Heat drafted Bam Adebayo out of Kentucky in the 2017 NBA draft, notably one of the only “true” centers in that whole draft. They did not make that selection unknowing of Whiteside’s poor play over the past few years. And while he most definitely does not agree with what critics say of his game, Spo’s benching’s have made the point fairly clear.

In conclusion, Whiteside now gets around 26.0 MPG, which is more minutes than last season with less production, do I need to say more?

We are down to our 3rd player grade, which obviously has to be the most famous no. 3 of them all.

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