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

1. Once again lead the NBA in blocked shots

Hassan Whiteside possesses a vertical leap of 31.5 inches, but he doesn’t even need to jump to serve as a fortress around the rim.

Blessed with a 7’7″ wingspan, all Whiteside needs to defend the basket it just to stretch out. All Whiteside needs to grab the rim is to stand on his tiptoes.

Two years ago, when Whiteside led the league in total rejections and blocks per game, he also led all players with a defensive rating of 95. Simply translated, with its center anchoring the paint, Miami surrendered 95 points per 100 possessions with Whiteside on the floor.

The blocks tend to come in bulk for Whiteside, as he has registered 11 games with five or more blocks over the past two seasons. The only player with more five-block performances in the same span is New Orleans forward Anthony Davis.

The seven-footer is one of just three players to reject over 250 shots in a single season this century and even as the league has placed a greater emphasis on perimeter shooting, Whiteside figures to be one of the NBA’s premier shot-blockers in 2017-18.

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With 568 total blocked shots in 217 career appearances, the 2.6 blocks per game Whiteside is averaging ranks as the most among all active players. He could be in line for another historic shot-blocking season.