The Miami Heat need to decide between Hassan Whiteside and Kelly Olynyk

Following a blowout home loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the time has come for the Miami Heat to settle on their center rotation moving forward.

Trailing by 38 points at home to the 13-22 Brooklyn Nets is certainly not what the Miami Heat had envisioned entering their latest contest. Despite being without the services of James Johnson, Dion Waiters and Justise Winslow, the 111-87 drubbing was not indicative of the preceding seven games in which the Heat posted a 5-2 record.

While he returned for their previous game, a 107-89 win over the Orlando Magic, center Hassan Whiteside was absent from the remainder of the Heat’s recent hot form. During that six-game stretch, the Heat posted an offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) of 105.3, well above their season average of 102.5.

But since his return, the Heat’s offensive production has again fluctuated depending on whether Whiteside was on or off the court. Never was this more evident than during Whiteside’s return against the Magic. After he played 17 minutes through the first three quarters, the Heat caught fire in the final term without Whiteside’s services, posting an offensive rating of 165.0 on their way to 39 points and five 3-pointers.

In the ensuing Nets game, the Heat struggled from the outset, ultimately posting a disappointing offensive rating of 85.6 as Whiteside had 20 minutes of action.

So while the Heat have suffered overall by being 9.1 points per 100 possessions worse offensively when Whiteside has been on the floor, it’s the noticeable lack of production of some key rotation players that has been most alarming.

Shooting guard Wayne Ellington has been in a purple patch recently, ranking second in the league in 3-pointers made over the past 10 games. Over the course of the season, Ellington has produced an offensive rating of 93.2 the he has shared the court with Whiteside, which explodes to 107.6 when Whiteside is resting.

Combo guard Tyler Johnson is another player whose performance has suffered dramatically this season with Whiteside in the lineup. While he’s posted an awful offensive rating of 89.2 when sharing the court with the seven-foot center, his offensive rating skyrockets to 106.6 when Whiteside is off the floor.

This was never more evident than during Whiteside’s recent 11-game absence, where Johnson averaged 13.8 points in 29.5 minutes per game, including shooting splits of .510/.429/.773.

The other key piece is Kelly Olynyk, primarily the backup to Whiteside who has also started some games alongside Whiteside at the 4-spot. Whereas his offensive rating has been just 96.2 when playing alongside Whiteside, his rating has shot up to 106.9 when Whiteside has been off the floor.

Defensively, the Heat have excelled with Whiteside on the court, with the team being 7.9 points per 100 possessions better off on the defensive end with Whiteside manning the middle. But while defense is of course key to any teams championship aspirations, you cannot deny recent history as it pertains to the importance of offensive productivity.

Since the Heat won the title in 2011-12, none of the previous six title teams have finished lower than sixth in the league in offensive rating.

Over the course of this season, the Heat have recorded a 5-12 record when they have posted an offensive rating of 101.9 or less. Currently ranked 25th in offensive rating at 102.5, they are clearly light years away from being the team president Pat Riley ultimately envisions.

Moving forward, the Heat front office and coaching staff are ultimately going to need to decide on one of two directions: Continue with Whiteside as the starting center and being among the worst in the league on the offensive end, or move on from the product of Marshall and employ Olynyk as the offensive-minded starting center, with rookie Bam Adebayo as his able backup.

As Boston Celtics’ head coach Brad Stevens noted following Olynyk’s career-high 32-point performance against his former team:

"“He fits perfectly with the way they play.”"

Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft: End of 2017 edition

So while coming to a conclusion with this scenario here is much easier said than done, the evidence from this season tends to suggest the Heat should look to move in a different direction.