Miami Heat: 5 goals for Hassan Whiteside in 2017-18

3. Average over 15 rebounds per game

In each of his three seasons with the Heat, Hassan Whiteside has drastically increased his rebounding figures.

During his first season with the team in 2014-15, he pulled down 10 rebounds a night, leading the team in total rebounds even though he played in just 48 games.

The following season, Whiteside ranked seventh in the league in both offensive and defensive rebounds. His average of 11.8 rebounds per game tied him with Dwight Howard for the third-most in the league — an even more impressive statistic considering he started just 43 games.

In an effort to transform Miami into an even better defensive unit, Whiteside concentrated on closing out possessions by grabbing rebounds. The tactic worked, as he led the league with 14.1 rebounds a night, with 10.3 coming on the defensive end.

Whiteside was at his best wrestling rebounds away from other players, with his 5.8 contested rebounds a night being second only to Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond.

Since 1990, DeAndre Jordan, Kevin Love, Ben Wallace, Dennis Rodman and Kevin Willis are the only players in the league to average 15 or more rebounds per game for an entire season.

To average 15 rebounds per game for 82 games, Whiteside would have to pull down 1,230 rebounds. The 1,200-rebound mark has been surpassed only eight times since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976.