Whiteside achieves impressive distinction. And mixed results on surprising Heat lineup
When Hassan Whiteside arrived at Spectrum Center on Tuesday evening, he found himself in the same proud position he stood at the end of the 2016-17 season: leading the league in rebounding.
What’s more, Whiteside also stood atop the league leader board in average blocks per game, among qualified players, after pacing the league in that category three seasons ago.
Entering Tuesday’s game at Charlotte, Whiteside was averaging 16.2 rebounds, ahead of Detroit’s Andre Drummond, who ranked second at 15.8.
But here’s what’s most impressive: Whiteside’s 19.6 rebounds per 36 minutes is well ahead of the 15.6 he averaged per 36 minutes two years ago, when he led the league with 14.1 boards per game. In fact, in a small sample size, he’s averaging more rebounds per 36 minutes than he ever has, and by a large margin.
Also, Whiteside’s 3.17 blocks per game so far this season topped the Lakers’ JaVale McGee, who’s second in that category at 3.0 per game. Anthony Davis leads the league in blocks at 3.75 but has played in only four games so he isn’t officially qualified among the league leaders. That’s a category Whiteside led the league during the 2015-16 season, when he averaged 3.7 blocks.
And there’s this: Whiteside is limiting the player he’s defending to 41 percent shooting — well below the 47 percent that opponents shot against him last season. Among starting centers, only Boston’s Al Horford is limiting players to a lower shooting percentage two weeks into the season.
On the flip side: Whiteside entered Tuesday as the only player in the league without an assist, among those averaging at least 20 minutes per game. Whiteside, who’s averaging 29.7 minutes per game, has 13 turnovers, including six in his 16-point, 24-rebound game in Monday’s loss to Sacramento.
Last season, Whiteside finished with 54 assists and 92 turnovers.
LINEUP MACHINATIONS
One of the mild surprises of the early season is that Erik Spoelstra has stuck with Tyler Johnson in his nine-man rotation instead of Wayne Ellington, who has been available the past two games after missing preseason and the start of the season with an ankle injury.
Not only is Johnson shooting just 36.2 percent from the field (17 for 47), but the player he’s guarding is shooting 52.1 percent (25 for 48), nine points higher than those players are shooting for the season. Offensively, Johnson is shooting 17.4 percent (four to 23) on three-pointers.
But on the plus side, the Heat has outscored opponents by two points with Johnson in the game.
Last season, Ellington ranked second on the team in plus/minus in the regular season, with Miami outscoring opponents by 127 points when he was on the floor. And his 227 three-pointers were most in history by an NBA non-starter.
Regarding Ellington not playing in his first two games back, Spoelstra said: “I have asked guys to just be patient. I am not going to force things. It will happen in due time. He has been there before with this. It’s a great lesson to young players. He prepares every single day to be ready for that opportunity when [his] number is called. You can absolutely guarantee his number is going to be called and when it is called, he’s going to be ready for it.”
Spoelstra said Ellington is “very fit.”
Asked if he is surprised he hasn’t played yet, Ellington said: “A little bit. But at the same time, I’m going to be remain patient. It’s always tough [not to play], but I understand I missed some valuable time with the team. I’m not concerned. I know it’s a long season and things will work themselves out. I look forward to getting back in.”
▪ The four players Spoelstra has used recently off the bench — Dwyane Wade, Johnson, Justise Winslow and Bam Adebayo — have played 25 minutes together as a quartet, and the Heat and its opponent have each scored 57 points during those minutes. But that group is shooting only 33.3 percent from the field.
Starter Josh Richardson has joined those four for 23 of the 25 minutes they have played together.
▪ Spoelstra said “we don’t have a timetable” for when James Johnson (sports hernia) or Dion Waiters (ankle) will return. “Every week when I watch him closely, it’s getting better,” Spoelstra said of Johnson.
▪ The Heat rotation players allowing the lowest shooting percentages through six games: Wade at 25.7, Rodney McGruder at 38.8 and Richardson at 38.9.
But Winslow, in his first two games of the season after missing time with a hamstring injury, has permitted the player he’s guarding to make 14 of 20 shots. That 70 percent ranks worst among forwards who have defended at least 20 shots.
This story was originally published October 30, 2018 at 4:05 PM.