Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside has had a love-hate relationship with the franchise and his role within it, with only vestiges left of the promising 7-foot beast who once showed so much upside two seasons ago. Wednesday's 110-87 rout of the New York Knicks saw a different Whiteside, one focused on the blue-collar principles of the sport — eagerly demanding possession of the ball by running the court and establishing position early.
The reward? A more-generous 15 shot attempts after combining for only 12 in the last two games.
The result? A 22-point, 14-rebound, three-block outing that saw flashes of the dominant presence he can be when playing up to his potential.
“It's important when he's been demonstrative in the way he posts up,” teammate Dwyane Wade said of taking notice of the team's biggest man, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “When he's rolling to the basket, when he's rebounding the basketball, blocking shots, it's our duty to make sure he gets it, when he's playing that way.
“And that's what we told him: ‘If you're going to play that way, then you've got to get the ball, you have to demand it. And when you don't, you're not getting it.' And I think he understands that.”
Whiteside has the talent to be among the elite at his position, but he has yet to show a consistent hunger for the ball — something that will need to be a constant in his game if he hopes to get the lion's share of minutes at center and merit his beefy four-year, $98 million extension.
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