Hassan Whiteside tallied 32 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in the Miami Heat’s double-overtime loss to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.
And that wasn’t enough for him.
Whiteside attempted just three shots through the two overtime periods, and he wasn’t happy about it, per Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley:
Hassan Whiteside with some interesting words on whether he's getting enough late-game touches #Heat pic.twitter.com/pffiI3EMG3
— Zach Buckley (@ZachBuckleyNBA) December 21, 2016
Does Whiteside have a point?
Per Buckley, the answer is “ehhhhhhhhhhh”:
@ZachBuckleyNBA for the record, Whiteside is 3rd in "clutch" shot attempts for #Heat this season (18), behind Dragic (28) and T Johnson (20)
— Zach Buckley (@ZachBuckleyNBA) December 21, 2016
Whiteside isn’t the player you throw the ball to if you need a basket. He has worked on his post game and his touch outside the paint, but he’s not that go-to guy just yet. He’s best served as a devastating pick-and-roll diver. And while the Heat could have looked to run more of those against the Magic, going to it too much makes them predictable. Defenses already cram the paint against them and their dearth of shooters. Giving Whiteside a team-leading usage rate wouldn’t be what’s necessarily best for the offense.
Pat Riley, though, can appreciate Whiteside’s sentiments, per Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald:
Riley: "What Hassan should do is walk in with a clipboard and a pen and diagram some plays he likes. I'm sure his coach will be amenable."
— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) December 21, 2016
Perhaps this is the biggest takeaway here: Whiteside clearly needs to learn how to better express his frustrations, but the fact that he was frustrated at all, after such a stellar individual performance, is exactly what you want in a franchise cornerstone.
