The Miami Heat had a disappointing end to their 2017-18 season, as they struck out in the first round of the playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers, who convincingly won the series, four games to one. The Heat’s early exit has also put big man Hassan Whiteside in a bad light. Whiteside was simply ineffective against Sixers center Joel Embiid. Making him look worse was his resentful attitude towards the way he was being used by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra in the series.
Aware that his center is getting plenty of bad rap, Spoelstra tried to come to Whiteside’s defense, according to an ESPN report.
“The narrative and the storylines that will be out there, I do think are unfair about Hassan right now,” Spoelstra said Friday.
Whiteside has made it apparent throughout that entire series that he wants more playing minutes on the floor than what the Heat was giving him. In five games against the Sixers, Whiteside played just 15.4 minutes, as Spoelstra wanted a smaller and faster lineup to combat Philadelphia’s small ball approach. With a reduced role, Whiteside was only able to chip in 5.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game against the Sixers, but it can’t also be denied that he was thoroughly outplayed by Embiid during the times the two shared the court together.
Whiteside is set to be paid $25.4 million next season before deciding whether he would pick up his player option in 2020. There are rumors that the Heat could be shipping him to another team this offseason, but for now, Spoelstra does seem to be intent on helping Whiteside restore his value on the team.
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