Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Whiteside has first impact game
MIAMI — It was easily the best performance of the series for Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and may be a little too late.
Whiteside had 13 points, 13 rebounds and a block in the Heat’s 106-102 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday in the Game 4 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff matchup. The Heat trail 3-1 in the best-of-7 series and face elimination in Game 5 on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
“He responded in a great way,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That’s what I love about the playoffs. These are opportunities to grow, to develop your competitive character and the only way to develop that is to actually be in these type of playoffs.”
Whiteside had been under scrutiny through the first three games when he tallied just 11 points and 12 rebounds total. In an effort to get him more involved, he played a series-high 26 minutes and his nine field goal attempts were more than he had combined in the series (7).
“Coach gave me some minutes out there,” Whiteside said. “I just tried to make the most of them, whatever the time I got.”
After the Game 3 loss, Whiteside was critical of Spoelstra because of his lack of playing time and the way he was utilized in the offense. Although there were few plays drawn for him Saturday, Whiteside made the most of limited opportunities.
The majority of his points came on dunks or put-backs.
“Coach just said no regrets,” Whiteside said. “Coach gave me, what did I play 26 minutes tonight? I just tried to make the most of whatever time I was out there.”
Whiteside bounced back after badly being outplayed by Sixers center Joel Embiid in Game 3. The two posted nearly identical numbers, with Embiid finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“I really got to match up with his minutes more than the last game,” Whiteside said.
It was also the most engaged Whiteside has looked in the postseason. Despite the recent controversy, he was cheering alongside teammates on the bench.
“As long as I played, that’s really what it is,” Whiteside said. “Guys were playing great. It’s really upsetting we lost. It’s a tough team. They do a lot of things. It’s not going to be the, easy. It’s the playoffs. It’s why 50 percent of the league is fishing and on vacation right now.”
Added Spoelstra, “I was really encouraged the way he responded to everything the last week.”
Even with Whiteside involved, the Heat were still out-rebounded 57-43. He was the only Heat player to reach double-digits in rebounds. Whiteside said they will have to fix the issue to have any chance of overcoming the deficit.
He also pointed out many of them weren’t from a lack of effort. Most were a result of the Sixers shooting 31 3-pointers and grabbing several long rebounds.
“You’ve just got to track the ball,” Whiteside said. Basic rebounding principles — when it’s on the other side 75 to 85 percent it goes to the other side of the rim. That’s normally what I do. I just track the ball. With them shooting so many threes, a lot of times it’s bouncing out to the three-point line. Those are the ones we struggle with.”