Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
All-Star return is hope
Whiteside wants another shot at New Orleans
MIAMI — Hassan Whiteside would enjoy nothing more than a return engagement this season in New Orleans. It would mean an All-Star breakthrough.
At times such as these, as the losses mount for the Miami Heat, including Friday’s to the New Orleans Pelicans, there remains the right for hope.
With the Heat making their lone appearance of the season at the Smoothie King Center Friday night, getting back on the court this season in New Orleans would require one of the 12 spots on the Eastern Conference All-Star roster.
By his numbers, Whiteside appears well positioned, including loading up with 18 rebounds against the Pelicans. The standings, however, tell a different story, the Heat now 10-21.
With fan voting opening today, Whiteside is not necessarily confident of securing one of the three starting East frontcourt spots, with those selections to come from a combination of fan, media and player balloting. The starters previously had been selected solely by fan input.
“All I know is they changed the voting this year,” said Whiteside, with the previous setup perhaps making it easier to sell his statistics to the fans.
Then there is the issue of no designated center spot on the ballot, with LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, based on popularity, all but assured two of the three frontcourt spots in the East, with Paul George, Kevin Love, Jimmy Butler or Giannis Antetokounmpo among those vying for the third.
Whiteside said he considers himself one of the three best frontcourt players in the East. “I believe so,” he said.
On the other hand, he believes the system in selecting All-Star starters could work against him in favor of a more dynamic frontcourt wing. “But it’s hard, because frontcourt, they don’t really have a center, they just have frontcourt,” he said.
Whiteside thought he had a chance last year, and believes that a return ticket this season to New Orleans to the Feb. 19 All-Star Game is within the realm.
“I think it’s always something that’s in somebody’s head,” Whiteside said of wanting to make it. “I think it would be a cool experience, just to be recognized as one of the better players in the league.
“But, I mean, if it doesn’t happen, it’s not the end of the world.”
If not voted in as a starter, Whiteside would have to make it as one of the seven reserves selected by conference coaches. That would mean receiving tangible respect from those who routinely praise his impact during interviews before facing the Heat.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know,” he said when asked if enough respect is in place from the Eastern Conference’s other 14 coaches, who are not allowed to vote for players from their own teams. “I have no idea, because every time I think I have, I haven’t. So I don’t know.”
For now, the onus is to push through nights like Friday, when the Heat shot .371 from the field and the Pelicans loaded up on him in the paint. The result was a mere 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting.
“They weren’t really letting me play,” he said. “They were coming so fast with the double team. I was trying to get more assists. I was kicking it out a lot.”
It was a night when the Pelicans were taking their chances with the Heat’s perimeter players, with Goran Dragic, Justise Winslow and Tyler Johnson leading the Heat in shots.
“There were a lot of guys that were shooting the ball. I was just trying to get as many offensive rebounds as possible,” Whiteside said after closing with seven.
The upshot was heading into the Heat’s three-day Christmas break a bit sore, after taking a hard fall late in Friday’s loss.
“I just really hit my head really bad,” he said of the sequence that included missing two free throws with the Heat down three with 16.1 seconds to play. “I just hit my head and my back. Guys are going to do anything they can to try to keep me from scoring or getting the dunk.”