Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Knee brace is ‘non-negotiable’
Spoelstra: Whiteside has to keep it on
MIAMI — Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside grew so uncomfortable with his knee brace he took it off early in last week’s victory against the Orlando Magic.
It won’t happen again, according to coach Erik Spoelstra. He said the team is focused on keeping Whiteside healthy the second half of the season.
“That’s not going to happen anymore or he’s not going to be out there,” Spoelstra said. “He had discomfort. We expect that. Just like a guy wearing an ankle brace or taped ankle. The first few times you do it, it’s uncomfortable, it’s new. But we want to protect him.”
Whiteside missed 13 games because of a bone bruise on his left knee. The Orlando game was his third game back in the starting lineup.
“He’s going to wear it,” Spoelstra said. “That’s non-negotiable.”
The Heat are considering the ultimatum as a way to protect their investment. Whiteside’s four-year, $98-million contract is the highest on the roster.
“I mean I don’t really have a choice,” Whiteside said of wearing the brace. “So I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Whiteside says he feels fine without the brace, but knows the importance of maintaining his health. The adjustment process is still ongoing.
“It’s extremely uncomfort-
“He had discomfort. We expect that. Just like a guy wearing an ankle brace or taped ankle. The first few times you do it, it’s uncomfortable, it’s new. But we want to protect him.” Erik Spoelstra, Heat head coach
able,” Whiteside said. “But I felt fine. Them guys were moving and it was winning time, so I listened to my body.”
Doctors told Whiteside he may have to wear the brace for two months. It helps limit the pressure on his knee.
“Bone bruises happen when you get hit in the knee real hard,” Whiteside said. “Wearing pads will do that. So I’ve been wearing my pads under my tights more, so I wasn’t doing that in the past. And it moves around in the game, so you can get hit in the leg a lot easier.”
Whiteside said the knee is nearing 100 percent. The layoff has mostly affected his timing and conditioning.
“I felt fine,” Whiteside said. “I felt like I was getting back into the rhythm of things. I’m glad coach left me out there for 29 minutes, 28 minutes. I love to be out there more with my team. I felt a lot better coming back. I felt a lot better in the next two games than I did the first game. We’ve been doing a lot of conditioning. The conditioning is always going to be hard on the Heat, so we do a ton of conditioning.”
The Heat need a healthy Whiteside more than ever now because the injuries are starting to mount. Forward Justise Winslow will miss his 10th straight game tonight against the Detroit Pistons because of a strained left knee. Dion Waiters (ankle) has also been ruled out. Guard Rodney McGruder and forward Okaro White also have been sidelined after undergoing surgeries.
“Justise was doing some more work on the side, on the court, though, which is a good sign,” Spoelstra said. “Dion is doing all of his work off the court and everybody else is ready to go.”
The lone positive is forward James Johnson is moving closer to returning after missing six of the last seven games with ankle bursitis. He was upgraded to questionable for tonight.
“He’s been in our protocol twice a day, conditioning, corrective, rehab, treatment and very concentrated, intelligent work on the court,” Spoelstra said. “Not too much. Scaling it up each day.”