A recovered Whiteside ready to put last year’s struggles behind him
With knee injury behind him, all-star status on 7-footer’s radar
MIAMI — As the Miami Heat look to open the regular season against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, it was at that exact point last year — yes, the first game — where center Hassan Whiteside’s season began to go awry.
Last year’s opener, also in Orlando, was when the 7-footer initially suffered the bone bruise in his left knee that lingered throughout the season, curtailed his effectiveness and cut his playing time down in the latter part of the regular season and postseason.
Whiteside, moving well on the floor this preseason and bringing the right attitude into the Heat’s facilities, has moved forward.
“Injuries are part of the game, but that’s behind me,” Whiteside said after Miami’s Sunday practice. “Let’s just pray for a healthy season.
“Let’s build off that season opener I had last year. I feel like it went well. Let’s get that win, though, this time around and let’s keep it going.”
That night against the Magic, Whiteside had 26 points, the most he had last season — save for 27 at Milwaukee on Jan. 17 — and a season-high 22 rebounds. He was 11 of 17 from the field and even connected on his only 3-point attempt.
Now, the Heat are hoping that Whiteside — the one that looked four-year, $98 million contract-worthy — is what they’ll get all season, and that it maybe even results in a homecoming during All-Star Weekend.
“We want him to want to be an all-star this year,” said 12-time all-star guard Dwyane Wade of Whiteside, who enters his third season under that four-year deal. “We want him to be able to represent the Miami Heat in Charlotte, in his hometown. It’s all of our goal for him.”
Whiteside finished a strong preseason with a 15-point performance on 5-of-6 shooting in 16 minutes on Friday night against the Hawks, adding four rebounds and two blocks but had five fouls.
“It’s not about what does his stat line look like or what do people perceive the game to be. I’m not even concerned with any of that,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s playing winning basketball right now. That winning basketball, to me, translates to the moment he arrives in the building.
“He’s mentally prepared. He’s coming in to work every day with a purpose to get better, to impact this team in a positive way, and it’s happening. He moves the needle. He just has to continue with that approach.”
The way he’s entering the 2018-19 campaign is an extension of the offseason he had.
“I seen it in the summer time,” Wade said. “He’s in a different air space. I like where he’s at. The work he put in this summer, you can definitely see. I think it’d be my job, as well as his job, to continue to keep him engaged all year, understand there’s going to be moments of frustration but understand his importance to this team.
“Just like I said a long time ago, before he was making $98 million, we need him if we’re going to win, and I think he understands that.”
Along with Wade, fellow 16-year veteran in power forward Udonis Haslem wants to be there for Whiteside all season, and he sees that sentiment reciprocated from him.
“The biggest thing for H is just his full commitment to us as a team, regardless of how it goes physically or mentally,” Haslem said. “He’s committed to us. As the NBA season gets long, you have injuries, you have ups and downs, you have good games, you have bad games, but you stay committed to the team. You depend on your guys, you trust us, you rely on us, we lift you up, you lift us up — that’s how it goes.”
Whiteside has taken a more active approach in learning what he needs to do on his end.
“Communication’s been great. I want to communicate more. You know, ‘what can I do?’ Ask more questions,” Whiteside said. “I feel like I’m moving a lot better, being able to push the ball up the court, blocking shots, jumping, getting rebounds, even spacing out to that corner 3, so I’m feeling a lot better.”
And, oh yeah, extending that range. He said of the corner 3: “That was my least favorite spot. We’re going to make it my favorite spot.”