Friday 22nd November 2024,
The Hoop Doctors

Hassan Whiteside Spoke to Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra About His Unhappiness with Role

Hassan Whiteside

Everything is cool between Hassan Whiteside and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra. Finally.

Whiteside and the Heat entered the All-Star break traversing what appeared to be a slippery slope. He was averaging under 25 minutes per game in the nine contests leading into the midseason sabbatical and was, by many appearances, visibly unhappy with his role.

That prompted him to seek out a meeting with Spoelstra before gearing up for the regular season’s stretch run, and things have been better, if completely fixed, ever since. Here’s the Miami Herald‘s Barry Jackson with the details:

What’s visible to everyone is that the Whiteside on display in three games since the break has been generally what the Heat wants — a fully engaged player displaying effort, passion and alertness on defense, along with the usual volume rebounding and blocks.

But here’s what happened behind the scenes: Whiteside said he met with Erik Spoelstra “right after the All-Star” break and Spoelstra showed an increased willingness to let him play through mistakes, which Whiteside very much appreciates. . . .

“Our communication, me and Spo, is better,” Whiteside told me Wednesday. “When I make a mistake, he’s not yanking me as fast. He’s letting me play through mistakes rather than taking me out so early.”

 That closed-door chitchat has, for the time being, worked out nicely. Whiteside is averaging over 30 minutes per game this side of the All-Star break, including a noticeable uptick in fourth-quarter spin, according to NBA.com.
And in exchange for this additional run, Whiteside is, well, playing better. His shooting percentages have skyrocketed and he’s turned in consecutive multi-assist games—a huge accomplishment for him.
Indeed, the sample here verges on nothing. The Heat are just three games into the latter part of the season. Whiteside won’t shoot almost 58 percent from the field forever, and it’d be a genuine shock to see him average two or more assists per game from here on. Still, him and Coach Spo appear to have reached some kind of understanding. That should only spell good things, even if Whiteside isn’t always enjoying honeymoon production.

Like this Article? Share it!