Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Heat looking for a spark
Team hopes to get frustrated Whiteside more involved.
“We’re not going to change the playbook but certainly we’ll work to get Hassan active. Erik Spoelstra, Heat coach
MIAMI — With much of the blame being placed on his struggling center, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra once again took some of it upon himself.
For a second consecutive day, Spoelstra said he needs to do a better job of getting Hassan Whiteside involved offensively. Whiteside has been non-existent through three games of the Heat’s first-round NBA Playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
“We’re not going to change the playbook but certainly we’ll work to get Hassan active on both ends and where you feel him in the game,” Spoelstra said after Friday’s practice. “Part of that is my job.”
Whiteside is averaging 3.6 points, four rebounds and 13.3 minutes a game this postseason. He only had one field goal attempt — an alley-oop dunk — in Thursday’s 128-108 loss in Game 3 that gave the Sixers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
The staff spent the past 24 hours brainstorming ways to encompass Whiteside before Saturday’s crucial Game 4 at AmericanAirlines Arena.
“We had a film session and, out here, and we were working on that,” Spoelstra said. “He’s going to do his part and face the competition and embrace that. I love seeing players in these situations during the playoffs, managing things that aren’t necessarily going your way. These are great opportuni-
ties.”
The attempt comes after Whiteside was critical of Spoelstra for the second time in three weeks. After Thursday’s game, he questioned the way he was being utilized by the coaching staff. He did the same following a late-season loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Spoelstra declined to comment on Whiteside’s claim of him being used mainly as a screener but downplayed the continued notion of a rift between them.
“I’m not going to get into that,” Spoelstra said. “This is competition so it’s going to bring out a lot of narratives. One way or another, we’re all going to have to face the competition [today]. All of that really at this point is just a narrative that’s out there. Our focus is on the task at hand, playing our best basketball for 48 minutes.”
Whiteside once again backtracked from the comments the following day. He said his decreased numbers are a product of the strategy.
“It might just be this series,” Whiteside said. “[Dwyane Wade] told me the other day, sometimes it’s other people’s games and sometimes it’s other people’s series. That’s just how we match up. Coach Spo, I’m doing the best for him and he’s happy. He’s got a great scheme.”
Whiteside, who averaged 14 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks this season, has hardly made his presence felt in the series. He has taken just seven shots and was badly outplayed by Sixers center Joel Embiid in Game 3.
Whiteside has taken the bulk of the criticism because he is the team’s highest-paid player. With a fouryear, $98-million contract, he is an easy target for fans and media.
“Oh, man. I just blur all that out,” Whiteside said. “Coach wants me to be more of a spacer. It can be your series, it can be your game. But it’s just the way we match up against them. I’m just trying to do the best thing for the team. I don’t get caught up in the guys that can’t do my job but talk about my job.”
Teammates have been encouraging him because they know the importance of Whiteside. His play on both ends is needed if the Heat have any chance of winning the series.
“He’s such an important part of our team and how successful we can be,” guard Tyler Johnson said. “Obviously, you feel for somebody when they’re not playing the way they want to be playing. It’s not a situation where we’re feeling bad for him because we don’t want him to feel bad for himself. We know what he’s capable of and that’s the standard we continue to hold him to.”