Whiteside seeking answers for lingering knee injury
Chronic pain forces center to miss game against Knicks.
NEW YORK — Heat center Hassan Whiteside is looking for answers about his injured left knee.
“It has really been bothering me throughout the season. It has been bothering me since Orlando,” Whiteside said before sitting out Wednesday’s game against the New York Knicks, the sixth game he has missed this season.
“We’re going to figure it out. We’re going to figure it out when we get back to Miami and figure out what’s wrong.”
Whiteside said the knee hurts whether he is running or jumping.
“There wasn’t a time on it,” he said when asked what the doctors told him after the injury. “You know, I sat out, I missed them games, I came back, and it’s still bothering me.”
Whiteside missed five games at the start of the season and sat out practice Saturday before playing Sunday in Chicago and Tuesday in Cleveland.
“It’s the same thing he’s been dealing with the last three weeks,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Since he’s been back, the days in between have been recovery days. So the back-to-back, we anticipated he probably wouldn’t play today. We’ll get back to Miami and re-evalu- ate him (today).”
Although Whiteside already has had one MRI, Spoelstra said the Heat may have the doctors look at the knee again.
“It hasn’t gotten any worse necessarily, just the schedule hasn’t let up and he really hasn’t been able to do two days of work in a row for a while,” Spoelstra said.
Whiteside’s availability for Friday’s home game against Charlotte is unknown.
Whiteside was injured when he banged knees with Magic center Nikola Vucevic in the season opener. He has played just 40 total minutes the past two games, none in the fourth quarter.
Spoelstra said the reduced playing time was not because of the knee, but it was clear at times that Whiteside appeared affected by the injury.
Whiteside is averaging 14.9 points and 12.9 rebounds in 15 games. The injury, reported as a bone bruise, has not completely healed. He had 22 points (10 of 21 from the floor) and 23 rebounds in the past two games.
Bam Adebayo started in Whiteside’s place against the Knicks. The 6-foot-10 rookie played for just the third time in 10 games during the Heat’s loss at Cleveland on Tuesday. He scored 19 points in just more than 18 minutes on 7-of-7 shooting and had six rebounds.
“That’s just what you want out of a young player, to be prepared for your opportunity, make the most of it, be there for your teammates,” Spoelstra said. “He came in with great energy and did things right. Unfortunately, everybody just notices it because he was 7 for 7 from the field. But he did a lot of good things defensively and on the glass and small things that don’t show up in the box score.”
New uni: Heat captain Udonis Haslem and Cleve- land’s Dwyane Wade have talked about swapping jerseys since Wade joined the Cavaliers before the start of the season.
The two got the chance Tuesday following Cleve- land’s 108-97 victory as they met on the court after the game, stripped off their jer- seys and handed them to one another.
“We talked about it, but the one thing we did say was his would probably be sweaty and mine would probably be dry,” Haslem said. “So that was the one thing we did have right.”
Even tho u gh Haslem played the final 5:09 of the Heat blowout?
“I (didn’t have) a chance to get my competitive juices flowing,” Haslem said.
When Haslem entered a game that had been in gar- bage time for nearly three quarters( Cleveland pushed the lead to 34 in the third quarter ), Wade was still on the court. Wade exited about three minutes later after scoring 17 points on 8- of -16 shooting, grabbingfi five rebounds and collecting four assists, sign she continues to grow more comfortable with his role ff ff the bench.
“Instantly when LeBron went out, you could see how the gears shifted in his mind and he went into attack mode, he went into leadership mode on the fl floor of ff ff ff ff ff fens iv ely ,” Has lem said.
James was ejected for the fifirst time in his career late in the third quarter after picking up two technical fouls .“There’ s no doubt in my mind. I knew can still do it, he just showed it ,”
Haslem said of Wade .“This league is about opportunities, understanding his role, understanding this is LeBron’s team .( Wade) has to play ad if ff ff ff ff ff fe rent role .” Haslem said he did not feel thee motion of being on the court with his longtime friend and teammate in Miami for 13 seasons.
“I’m more focused the game didn’t turnout the way we wanted it to turn out ,” Has lem said .“Granted, they’ re the Eastern Conference champions and who knows if we would have won if we would have given our best effffffffffffort.
“I’m very disappointed in thee ff ff ff ff ff ff ortt hat we came with and the mindset we started the game with .”
Haslem now has a jersey he can add to his Wade collection, one that includes a Heat jersey, USA jersey and now a Cavaliers jersey( he does not have a Wade jersey from his one season with the Bulls ).
But first: “I’m going to was hit ,” he said.