Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Spoelstra puts responsibility on Whiteside
MIAMI — A night earlier, patience was in short supply, so Erik Spoelstra yanked center Hassan Whiteside during a languid performance in Cleveland. On Saturday night, the confidence was to the point that Spoelstra allowed Whiteside to play through foul trouble in Chicago.
While losses were the net result in each case for the Heat, 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots Saturday from Whiteside were encouraging, even with most of those statistics coming early.
Spoelstra said it never was about the conversations during and after the differences he and the center had Friday night.
“It has nothing to do with any kind of dialogue,” Spoelstra said. “It’s all about development and his understanding of how important he is to this team, and on all levels.
“I’ve mentioned this so many times before this: He’s starting to see what that actually means and what that feels like. There is a big responsibility, and that’s what he signed up for.”
Spoelstra also sided with his center when it came to his five fouls Saturday.
“We would appreciate it more if they were fouls that were more of a physical variety,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat turning their attention to their game Monday night against the visiting Wizards. “A couple of them looked like they were phantom fouls.
“But I thought he brought a great presence. He was a little bit hobbled with his hip and his knee, but he brought a competitive spirit and energy that’s needed for our basketball team.”
Whiteside said he appreciated the need to push through the minor ailments.
“It was tough,” he said. “I wasn’t 100 percent.”
Spoelstra continues to stress the significance for Whiteside to serve as the Heat’s motor.
“It’s all part of the maturation process of Hassan Whiteside and how important he is to us and him playing at his highest level,” Spoelstra said. “And there’s so many different factors of playing at a high level, and it’s not just on the court. It’s the approach and the details, everything else in between.
“And you can see it. You can see it when he’s playing at an extremely high intensity level, that we’re a different team.”
Richardson back
Josh Richardson hopes to lead by example and that
there can be an immediate and effective response from the Heat’s heavily populated rehabilitation program.
After being sequestered back at AmericanAirlines Arena along with fellow injured Heat teammates Justise Winslow, Dion Waiters, James Johnson and Luke Babbitt, Richardson returned Saturday from a six-game absence with a sprained right ankle to contribute 11 points, four assists and three rebounds in the loss to the Bulls.
“I think I had a pretty good game,” he said. “I think I was aggressive. I was attacking all night. I would have liked to get more some more stops out there, but it didn’t happen. But I think it was a pretty good game back.”
He played many of his 26 minutes at point guard.
“I like to think I’m one of the vocal leaders of the team. So when I’m coming down, I like to call plays early and get guys in their spots,” he said. “I’m perfectly comfortable playing it.”
The game marked the first time the 2015 secondround pick out of Tennessee played without the brace he required after missing the entire preseason and first week of the regular season with a sprained right medial collateral ligament.
“I felt faster, now that I didn’t have to drag that big old knee brace around all night,” he said.
Whiteside said Richardson’s return was heartening.
“He brings a toughness,” Whiteside said. “He’s athletic. He can space the floor. He’s aggressive.”