Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside returned to practice on Monday and is hopeful to play in the team's preseason opener against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.
Whiteside tweaked his left ankle last week and has been sitting out practices as a result. The Blazers were clearly being cautious with Whiteside, who will start for Portland while Jusuf Nurkic rehabs his leg injury.
Whiteside and Collins both practiced today. Stotts said he didn't have an update, but was hopeful they would play in tomorrow's preseason game #RipCity
— Jamie Goldberg (@Jamiebgoldberg) October 7, 2019
The Blazers are hoping Hassan Whiteside can recapture his 2016-17 form when he averaged 17.0 points and 14.1 rebounds per game for the Miami Heat. Portland believes a change of scenery is just what Whiteside needed after his overall impact dipped in recent years down in South Beach.
Last season in Miami, Whiteside put up 12.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game while shooting 57.1 percent from the field. He recorded 36 double-doubles. Whiteside, who will make $27 million this 2019-20 season, has one year left on his current deal.
Playing with guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum should be beneficial for Whiteside. If the big man can score efficiently and rebound for the Blazers, this could be a good move for Portland even though Whiteside is very mercurial — both on and off the court.
The Blazers made it to the Western Conference Finals last season. The next step for the franchise is to make it to the NBA Finals. Portland would love to see Whiteside have a resurgence this campaign and help them accomplish that goal.
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