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.”
