Hassan Whiteside has missed the Miami Heat’s past five games with a bruised left knee, and it doesn’t seem like he’ll be returning to the lineup in short order.
Well that, or his return will be instantaneous, coming with out warning from the organization.
Those are the only two potential conclusions we can draw at the moment, because head coach Erik Spoelstra hasn’t given us much else to work with, per the South Florida Sun-Sentinel‘s Ira Winderman:
“He’s making progress,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat’s season-longest six-game homestand concluding Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls. “We’ll evaluate him tomorrow. I don’t have a determination on when he’ll be ready.” . . .
“Everything is basically work, see how his body responds to it,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat declining to make players available while injured. “Every day has been a little bit better, so we’ll see how he feels tomorrow, if he can go through shootaround.”
That Whiteside is at least progressing comes as good news. And the fact Miami will try putting him through shootarounds to test the knee is no doubt at a great sign. But the dearth of concrete updates is maddening, if damning to an imminent timetable.
The Heat need Whiteside. They rank 18th in points scored per 100 possessions and 24th in points allowed per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com. They’ve already held a team meeting to address their problems, which also include a sub-.500 record and 20th-ranked turnover rate.
Whiteside should help them at both ends, giving the Heat a more devastating finisher out of the pick-and-roll, as well as a truer shot-blocking presence around the rim. He’s always had an iffy relationship with on-off stats, but that often has more to do with how Coach Spo runs his rotation, not to mention how much better Miami’s bench seems to be than those of their rivals.
If nothing else, the Heat need Whiteside back because he’s a dominant talent. He looked well on his way to garnering more All-Star love this year in his season debut, during which he tallied 26 points and 22 rebounds on 11-of-18 shooting. He may not be the key to them turning things around, but he can only help their quest to head in a more flattering direction.
