During last summer's free agency, Hassan Whiteside became one of the more coveted players after his emergence as an elite shot blocker and rebounder. He eventually re-signed with the Miami Heat even with the uncertainty of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh‘s future with the team at that time.
With both stars no longer playing in Miami, a lot of the leadership and veteran mentoring was placed on Whiteside's shoulders being the team's new go-to-guy. However, he has lacked consistency so far this season and was even called out by his head coach, Erik Spoelstra, following his poor performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
The 7-foot center responded with a strong performance the following night, finishing with 20 points and eight rebounds in a losing effort against the Chicago Bulls despite dealing with soreness in his hip. Spoelstra talked about what he expects from Whiteside every game and what his signing with the team means.
“It has nothing to do with any kind of dialogue, it’s just all about development and his understanding of how important he is to this team on all levels. He’s starting to see what that actually means and what that feels like. It is a big responsibility and that’s what he signed up for.”
The Heat are struggling to string a few wins together this season so far and have dealt with a lot of injuries to their key players. Spoelstra hopes that Whiteside can sustain his strong showing from their last game and help the team become more successful.
Even with a 7-17 record, all is still not lost for the South Beach team as they are only five games out of the last playoff spot. If Whiteside can find his groove once again and play like how he did the last two years, the Heat could be making a strong push as the season progresses.
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