Whiteside puts in extra effort on free throws
Heat center hopes practice leads to improved accuracy.
MIAMI — When the Miami Heat finished up on their practice court Monday, center Hassan Whiteside went downstairs to the main floor at AmericanAirlines Arena to shoot 100 free throws.
Whiteside, whose freethrow accuracy has been an issue all season, is shooting just 53.6 percent, which is 100th among the 106 players who qualify. The five players below him are all centers.
“I’ve got to get better,” Whiteside said. “I’m shooting under 60 percent. I just shot 100. I’ll probably shoot 100 or 200 later.”
When Whiteside added he made 88 out of 100 he was asked if his poor free-throw shooting had anything to do with a full arena.
“It’s when the adrenaline gets to pumping and the extra game strength comes into play,” he said. “That’s what I’ve got to control.”
Whiteside had a decent three-games stretch entering the Heat’s 91-87 loss in New Orleans on Friday, making 14-of-21 (66.7 percent). But the game before that he missed all but one of five attempts in a four-point loss to the Clippers, and then he missed four of six against the Pelicans.
To his credit, Whiteside is the only member of the Heat who has played every game. He continues to lead the league with 14.9 rebounds and is averaging 18.0 points.
“I ’ v e b e e n b a n ge d u p some games,” Whiteside said. “Some of my worse games, I’ve been more hurt than others. I think that’s the one thing fans don’t understand, that guys are playing through injuries.
“It’s been a lot of days I haven’t been feeling well. I tried to go out there and o utd o mysel f l a s t g a me, which is not easy.”
Whiteside had 10 points and 18 rebounds while New Orleans’ Anthony Davis went off with 28 points and 22 rebounds.
When asked where he was feeling sore, Whiteside would not list his ailments.
“I can’t tell y’all,” he said. “(Oklahoma City) might see this. Steven Adams might use it against me.
“I’ve just been banged up. I rebound, so guys are really physical with me. They’re not just letting me go down and get rebounds.”
The Heat host the Thunder tonight.
Health improving: The Heat are getting closer to having their full squad available.
But haven’t we heard this before?
Rodney McGruder (ankle) and Wayne Ellington (hamstring) went through “virtually the entire practice” Monday and, according to coach Erik Spoelstra, are questionable for today’s game against Oklahoma City.
Spoelstra and the training staff just want to see how they feel following today’s shootaround.
Mc Gr u d e r h a s mi s s e d three games and Ellington has sat the past four. Ellington also missed the first 16 games of the season with a thigh bruise and was starting to find his groove when he strained his hamstring.
“The best test will be how he feels (today),” Spoelstra said about Ellington. “He’s been building up, building up.
“Practice will give us a better indication.”
E l l i n g t o n ’s 2 0 g a m e s missed i s second only to Chris Bosh, who has missed the entire season because of recurring blood clot issues.
Dion Waiters has missed 15 games since being diagnosed with a torn muscle in his groin. Waiters, who started sprinting during the last homestand, i s doing more each day, according to Spoelstra.
“He’s on a good timeline,” Spoelstra said. “He’s doing more each day.”
The Heat have lost 12 3 games to injury and illness, including Bosh. assists in 1961-62 for the Cincinnati Royals.
“He makes you watch, doesn’t he?” Spoelstra said of Westbrook. “What he’s doing is unprecedented.”
Westbrook has 14 tripledoubles this season, four fewer than the rest of the league combined, and 51 in his career, the most among active players.
The Heat have 22 tripledoubles in their 29-year history, including the last four by Hassan Whiteside, who did it with points, rebounds and blocks. LeBron James is the Heat all-time leader with nine. Dwyane Wade had four.
“He’s got that ability that he can jump over people,” He a t poi nt g u a rd G o r a n Dragic said. “I don’t have that. It’s tough, especially if he beats you off the dribble. Then it’s really tough to challenge his shot. He’s so explosive. It’s hard to stay in front of him.”
A n d We s t b ro o k c o u l d have been posting those triple-doubles for the Heat.
Miami selected Michael Beasley with the second pick of the 2008 draft. Two spots later, Westbrook was taken by Seattle, which later moved to Oklahoma City.
Heat President Pat Riley spoke about that draft during a radio interview Wednes- Oscar Robertson, 1961-62 Russell Westbrook, 2016-17
day, the day before the Heat retired Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey.
“In 2008, we took a hit and we missed on that pick in Michael Beasley,” Riley said, before adding, “We didn’t really miss on it, but the best player was Russell Westbrook.”
Beasl ey i s on hi s s i xt h team, including two stints with the Heat.
The Heat were hoping to atone for that missed opportunit y next summer. But Westbrook, who was scheduled to become a free agent, reworked his contract with the Thunder last summer, signing a three-year, $85.6 million deal that will earn him $26.5 million this year.
The deal, which was signed after Kevin Durant fled the Thunder for Golden State, has a player option that will allow Westbrook to become a free agent in the summer of 2018, one he surely will exercise, considering he’d be eligible for a maximum contract that could net him around $210 million for five years.
A l t h o u g h We s t b r o o k a p p e a r s t o b e p l a y i n g with an even greater purpose this season considering how the Thunder were overlooked after Durant left, Heat guard Dion Waiters said
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Westbrook’s intensity never changes. Waiters played with Westbrook in Oklahoma City the last year-and-a-half.
“That’s what make him really good, always playing with that chip on his shoulder,” Waiters said. “And I know he plays every game like it’s his last. Just by being around and working with him, I know.”
We s t b r o o k h a s s i n - g l e - h a n d e d l y wi l l e d t h e Thunder to the top spot in the Northwest Division and sixth in the West with a roster that otherwise seems no better than the Heat’s.
In fact, if you remove the best player from the Thunder and the Heat (whether it’s Dragic or Whiteside), the Heat arguably are better.
Westbrook is scoring just less than 30 percent of his team’s points. Including his assists, he has a hand in half of the Thunder’s points.
“If you don’t match his game, he’s going to eat you alive,” Dragic said. “You just need to compete back. That’s the main thing. If you do that, then I feel like the players appreciate you more. Not only your teammates, but even the opponents. No one wants the easy way out.”