Here’s how Heat’s Hassan Whiteside plans to end his struggles at the free-throw line
When it comes to Hassan Whiteside’s recent struggles at the free-throw line, he blames himself.
Why? After finding success with an unconventional jump shot technique at the charity stripe, the Heat’s starting center went away from that routine to use a more flat-footed style this season.
The results have not been positive, as Whiteside entered Thursday shooting just 46.8 percent from the free-throw line this season after making a career-best 70.3 percent of his free throws last season. It has been especially bad lately, with Whiteside sinking just 5 of his past 29 free throws (17.2 percent) during his previous eight games entering Thursday’s home contest against the Rockets.
“With the free throws, I made the biggest mistake a pro can make,” Whiteside said. “I didn’t trust my routine. I was a 70 percent free-throw shooter last year, and I tried to critique it and I tried to change it and get outside of myself. And you know, that’s the worst thing I could have done.”
Whiteside’s plan is to get back to what worked for him in the past and start shooting jumpers again at the free-throw line.
That seems to be an obvious move because the more traditional technique isn’t working. Among the 58 centers who have played in at least 20 games this season, according to the NBA’s tracking statistics, Whiteside owns the worst free-throw percentage.
It’s one of the reasons the Heat entered Thursday with league’s second-worst team free-throw percentage at 70.3 percent. Whiteside hopes bringing back his jump shot technique will help improve that number.
“Yeah, yeah, just get back to it and shoot a jumper and just trust it,” he said. “I was overthinking.”
D-Wade and D-Wait
Yes, Dion Waiters is looking forward to returning to game action. The thought of playing alongside Dwyane Wade also gets him excited.
Waiters and Wade have yet to play together as teammates, with Waiters undergoing ankle surgery in January and Wade coming back to the Heat via trade in February. But Waiters is close to making his return, as he was cleared for full-contact work Wednesday for the first time since surgery.
“I know how I feel about that. I talk about it all the time,” Waiters said when asked about playing with Wade. “Like I said, man, scratch it off the bucket list, just being able to go out there and learn from a guy, be able to pick his brain. Even when I wasn’t playing, I was just constantly asking him questions, even like about life off the court, businesses, little things. Man, I’m just asking him as much as I can.”
Even before Wade returned to Miami, Waiters was retweeting photoshopped images of Wade and him standing side by side as Heat teammates. Well, it’s close to becoming a reality.
“I don’t want to put too much expectations on him,” Wade said when asked how Waiters can help the Heat this season. “It’s going to take a while for him to get back into the flow once he finally gets on the court. But his ability to put pressure on the basket, his first step — he hasn’t lost a step from that standpoint — and his ability to make big shots. He’s a good playmaker, as well. As he gets back into it, he’s also a good defender.
“It just brings another dynamic to our team. It brings another wing guy to our team, as well. Our team has to understand that we’re getting a guy back, and everyone is going to have to make sacrifices when it comes to minutes, shots, touches, etc. because he’s a big part of this organization and where this organization wants to go.”
▪ Forward Yante Maten rejoined the Heat for Thursday’s game against the Rockets. The two-way contract player is averaging 27 points and 10.6 rebounds for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League this season.
This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 10:44 AM.
