Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside didn't practice on Wednesday after tweaking his left ankle on Tuesday.
It appears the Blazers are just being cautious with Whiteside, who will serve as the team's starting big man while Jusuf Nurkic rehabs his leg injury.
Terry Stotts says Hassan Whiteside “tweaked” his ankle in yesterday’s practice, so he sat out today.
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) October 2, 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.
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 has one year left on his deal with the Blazers. He’ll make $27 million this season.
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.
The West, though, is going to be a bloodbath this 2019-20. For the Blazers to win it all, multiple players on the roster will have to have career seasons.
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