Miami Heat: 2017-18 player grades for Hassan Whiteside
By Simon Smith
Weaknesses
Accepting his role and dealing with change are at the top of the list of things that let down Whiteside this season.
In his career-best season of 2016-17, Whiteside primarily had the center duties to himself, with Willie Reed filling the role as his primary backup. However, things changed noticeably this season.
Not only did the Heat add free agent Kelly Olynyk and first round draft Bam Adebayo to their center rotation, the modern-day style of play simply evolved to another level. As someone who is accustomed to playing close to the rim in old-fashioned manner, the advent of small-ball has Whiteside’s role moving forward looking rather contentious.
Unlike Whiteside, the duo of Olynyk and Adebayo possess far more of the versatility and ability to adapt to the changing landscape of the league. This became most apparent throughout the regular season, where both Olynyk and Adebayo exceeded Whiteside in terms of fourth quarter minutes. In fact, of his 54 total appearances this regular season, Whiteside appeared in just 31 final quarters. By way of contrast, Olynyk appeared in the fourth quarter in 69 of his 76 games for the year.
However, the bottom line with Whiteside, as has been the case for the majority of his carer, is his maturity level. After seemingly placing the blame on the Heat coaching staff for his failures in the postseason, Dwyane Wade offered the following advice for the Heat big man:
Dwyane Wade calls on Hassan Whiteside not to make excuses about this series. He pleads with him to work hard this summer and come back strong for next season. "Hopefully he gets motivated from this series." Seems to be genuinely rooting for Whiteside to get it right.
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) April 25, 2018
In a nutshell, Whiteside’s inability to guard on the perimeter, and his unwillingness to adapt to and accept the reality of the modern game, are going to be difficult problems to overcome.