Getting Physical With Hassan Whiteside

By Christopher Cruz | Mar 15, 2015

Mar 13, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Miami Heat point guard Goran Dragic (7) goes to the basket against Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry (7) at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

The Miami Heat should expect to receive physical play from opposing teams from here on out. Specifically, they will receive this type of play from players that are playing against Hassan Whiteside. Two games ago, Whiteside elbowed Kelly Olynyk in the back of the neck and was suspended for one game, a suspension that many thought would be longer.

Whiteside was also ejected from the game against the Boston Celtics, which they eventually lost. Thankfully, they were able to win the next game, but that will have an effect on the rest of the season for Miami.

If you watched Friday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors, you noticed in the first half when a live ball went up in the air, that Whiteside got into position and was all set for an offensive rebound. All of a sudden, Kyle Lowry went full speed into Whiteside as a full back goes into the scrum at the line of scrimmage on a fourth and one play to tie the game.

Whiteside went flying into the out of bounds area. I cringed as this took place, because I wasn’t sure what he would do.

After the NBA had issued the suspension, veteran leader Dwyane Wade stepped in and made a statement about Whiteside.

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It still remained to be seen how Whiteside would respond. Tempers flare in basketball, they have to. So much of the game is wrapped up in emotion. But Whiteside has to learn how to manage that emotion a bit better, because in his very short career, this isn’t the first time that his emotions got the best of him.

Against Alex Len, Whiteside came down after a rebound and tangled up with Len, and ended the play by tackling him to the ground. He got ejected after that game as well.

All of that to say, that when Lowry put his shoulder into Whiteside, I was worried that he’d get upset. Nothing of the sort happened though. Whiteside just got up, shrugged it off and ran to the other side of the court. Whiteside didn’t play particularly well against the Toronto Raptors Friday night. Part of that might be because they played pretty physical with him.

Tyler Hansbrough, Amir Johnson and James Johnson pushed the Miami bigs around.

Maybe this will be the way that Whiteside is played from here on out, at least until he learns to control his temper. Physically, that is, in terms of his ability to dunk or rebound, there is no one in the league that can match him right now. That is why he continues to dominate those aspects of the game. This is a cause for concern for Miami fans because a team like Toronto should be beaten.

They had struggled heavily in their last 10 games, and were on a losing streak before beating Miami. If Toronto’s big men can rough up Whiteside, then what does that say about real big men like Roy Hibbert or Dwight Howard who have actual size and strength?

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