Miami Heat: Hassan Whiteside’s Sustainable Linsanity

On Christmas Day, the Miami Heat were 14-16 with a pair of stars over 30 and little to build around for the future. Mere months removed from its fourth consecutive NBA Finals appearance, Miami was a below-.500 team with no long-term prospects.

Thus, the cries for aid had grown abundant.

While victories remain tough to come by—to some extent, more so than before—much has changed in Wade County. Suddenly, Chris Bosh, Luol Deng and Dwyane Wade aren’t the only household names in a Heat uniform.

In just one calendar month, one player has gone from a virtual unknown to the name on the tip of everyone’s tongue. He’s gone from a lost NBA cause to the primary focus of national media outlets.

That player is Hassan Whiteside, and what he’s experiencing is a sustainable version of Linsanity.

Believe the hype.

As New York Knicks fans remember in some light, whether positive or otherwise, Jeremy Lin once captivated the Mecca of Basketball. In a similar time frame to Whiteside’s rise to fame, Lin carried the Knicks and enchanted their fans with unpredictably incredible performances.

Leading up to this unforeseen eruption, Lin had been where Whiteside was stationed: the D-League and the backend of sub-.500 teams’ rotations.

Since the arguably iconic period known as Linsanity ended, Lin’s gone on to become a respectable NBA point guard. He’s not nearly the star that he’d been in New York, but he’s averaging 25.8 minutes per game with the Los Angeles Lakers.

With all due respect to Lin and his incredible tale of perseverance, there’s one difference between Linsanity and Whiteside’s current stretch: the latter’s success is sustainable.

The Rise from Obscurity

After spending a season with the Marshall Thundering Herd, Hassan Whiteside declared eligible for the 2010 NBA Draft and was selected No. 33 overall by the Sacramento Kings. Playing behind DeMarcus Cousins was destined to limit his minutes, but the upside remained.

Sadly, Whiteside never progressed. Instead, he went from a promising player with size and length on his side to an afterthought in Sacramento.

He played in just one game as a rookie and 18 in 2011-12. Before long, he was gone from a main NBA roster and delegated to the D-League.

In an attempt at a return, Whiteside was signed and waived by the Memphis Grizzlies on three separate occasions, which led many to believe that his NBA career had come to a close. In something of a last-resort move, he played in China and Lebanon, including China’s second-tier league, the NBL.

In no time at all, Whiteside has gone from lost amidst the obscurity of the NBL to shining in the NBA.

Shining is an understatement.

Unbelievable Numbers

Thus far, Whiteside has posted averages of 8.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks. Those numbers may not blow you away, but that’s because there isn’t context behind them.

Whiteside’s doing all of this in just 17.7 minutes per game.

Those numbers equate to 17.5 points, 15.5 rebounds and 5.1 blocks per 36 minutes.

In January alone, he’s averaging 11.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 20.1 minutes per game. That can be read as 19.7 points, 16.1 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per 36 minutes.

For what it’s worth, he’s grabbed at least 16 rebounds in three of his five games with at least 25 minutes. He had 13 in 25 minutes and 10 in 27 in the others.

That 13-rebound performance was the one in which he recorded a triple-double.

That’s where the term, “Unbelievable,” starts to kick in.

Genuinely, it’s hard to believe what Whiteside is doing—expected or otherwise.

According to Basketball-Reference.com, only one player in NBA history has ever averaged at least 15.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per 36 minutes while playing at least 300 minutes of basketball: Whiteside.

Beyond the season numbers are the improbably great single-game performances. Not only is he rebounding and blocking shots at an extraordinary level, but he’s doing so at one that hasn’t been seen in more than a decade.

Per NBA TV, Whiteside became the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double that included 10 blocks in under 25 minutes.

In that same game, he became the first player to record at least 12 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocks in the same outing since Shawn Bradley on April 7, 1998, per Basketball-Reference.

If that’s not enough, try this: ESPN Stats & Info reports that Whiteside was the first player to block at least 12 shots in 25 minutes or less in over 25 years.

For perspective, Bol was 7’7″.

Most recently, Whiteside grabbed 10 rebounds in the first four minutes of the Heat’s 93-72 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. He ended up with 14 first-quarter rebounds, despite playing just eight minutes in that period.

He finished with 16 points, 24 boards, one block and a steal on 7-of-11 shooting in 29 minutes for the game, thus making even more history.

As I said, unbelievable.

Why It’s Sustainable

To be clear, the term, “Sustainable,” doesn’t necessarily mean that Hassan Whiteside will continue to do things that haven’t been done in a decade-plus. What it does mean, however, is that Whiteside has arrived and is capable of maintaining a high level of performance every time out.

The most evident reason is as clear as the eye can see: Whiteside stands at 7’0″ and 265 pounds with a wingspan that was measured at 7’7″ at the 2010 NBA Draft Combine, per NBA.com.

In a league that values the 3-point shot more than ever, it remains vital to have players who can take it inside and score. That’s especially true during the postseason, where halfcourt scoring and defense often decide the victor.

Even if he is to slow down as a scorer, Whiteside’s mere size and presence is enough to disrupt every aspect of an opponent’s offensive gameplan as an interior defender and rebounder.

By merely standing in the paint with his arms raised, Whiteside can make a bigger impact than a vast majority of NBA players. That may seem simplistic and hyperbolic, but a player of his size and length doesn’t come along very often.

For perspective, in 2013-14—what many consider to be his worst season to date—Roy Hibbert rated as the No. 1 player in opponent field goal percentage at the rim, per NBA.com.

There’s no reason Whiteside can’t perform at a similar level with superior mobility and an equally strong nose for the ball.

Nevertheless, there will be talk of Whiteside being a flash-in-the-pan performer who’s destined to be overpaid. What separates Whiteside from a player such as Jerome James is an important combination: age and commitment.

For those unfamiliar, James turned heads in the 2005 NBA Playoffs by coming out of nowhere to average 17.2 points per game against the Sacramento Kings. He later led the Kings to victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals by scoring 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting.

The undeniable truth: rebounds, blocks and a general interior impact is generally more sustainable than taking over as a scorer with limited shooting opportunities.

Such was on display as early as the 2005 Western Conference Semifinals, when James’ scoring was more than cut in half from 17.2 points against Sacramento to 8.5 versus the Spurs.

Don’t expect Whiteside to offer a repeat performance.

The other factor, age, is what truly matters in a case like this. James received a five-year, $30 million contract from the New York Knicks, but the forgotten truth is that he turned 30 years old in the first of his five-year deal.

Whiteside is only 25. Not only is that a five-year difference, but it’s a massive separation between entering one’s prime and exiting it.

It also doesn’t hurt that Whiteside is set to become a restricted free agent, thus allowing the rest of the NBA to set his market value upon Miami’s expected extension of a $1,181,348 qualifying offer.

While skepticism is both understandable and warranted, Whiteside is not another case of, “Here today, gone tomorrow.” He’s a young player with elite size and length, as well as the support of a cast of veteran teammates—something unavailable during Jeremy Lin’s Linsanity tenure with the Knicks.

Maintain your reservations, if you must, but don’t miss out on one of the most unique rises to fame in NBA history.

In the end, you’ll be rewarded with a fascinating truth: Whiteside is here to stay.

Next: Is Dwyane Wade the greatest player in franchise history?