Don't Expect Hassan Whiteside to Join NBA's Stretch-Center Revolution
MIAMI — Hassan Whiteside is no stranger to the NBA's stretch-center revolution.
With bigs following the leaguewide trend of letting it fly—16 centers have made double-digit threes on the season—the Miami Heat's 7-footer has seen the impact firsthand.
"I won't get as many blocks," Whiteside told Bleacher Report, "because I'm away from the paint."
One might assume, then, the 27-year-old could use that intel to expand his own offensive range and pull opposing shot-blockers away from the basket. To a small extent, he has, though his long-range forays have occurred away from the public eye.
"He shoots them in practice," swingman Josh Richardson said. "He hits them in practice sometimes. He doesn't shoot them when we're scrimmaging, but he'll mess around and shoot them."
The idea of that hobby becoming something more isn't entirely far-fetched.
While most know Whiteside for his above-the-rim antics at both ends, he's proved capable of burying jumpers. His 24 mid-range makes are tied for 12th among centers, and his 42.1 percent conversion rate outpaces stretch bigs Marc Gasol (35.2), DeMarcus Cousins (36.5) and Karl-Anthony Towns (35.0).
"He has continued to improve on the offensive end," Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "I would consider him to have a pretty consistent mid-range shot."
But, despite hitting a career-best 50 percent from 16 feet to the three-point line, Whiteside isn't interested in further expansion.
He knows his bread is buttered underneath, as he's hit at least 72 percent within three feet each season since landing in Miami. And he'd prefer to keep it that way.
"I like to get down and dirty in the paint," Whiteside said. "I like to be close to the rim."
It's hard to question his approach given the havoc he creates there.
He's averaged at least 17 points per 36 minutes while shooting better than 53 percent each season with the Heat, a feat no other NBA player can claim. He's also one of only four players with top-10 rankings in both restricted-area field goals (123, sixth) and offensive rebounds (4.3 per game, second).
If widening his range required lessening his interior impact, that's probably a sacrifice the Heat are unwilling to make.
"When he has a foot in the paint, he's a handful down there," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
As Whiteside sees it, he plays the way centers were meant to.
"As a center, I think you should always shoot over 50 percent," he said. "That's standard as a center. If you're shooting in the 40s, that's not productive to me."
While his basketball role models come in all shapes and sizes—he counts everyone from Kobe Bryant to Shaquille O'Neal in his pantheon—he follows the footsteps of centers who banged in the rough-and-tumble paints of yesteryear.
"I grew up watching Shaq and Hakeem [Olajuwon]," Whiteside said. "Those guys were not shooting threes. They are Hall of Famers. How are you going to go against that?"
Even as the position morphs around him, Whiteside is comfortable in the old-school mold.
The average distance of his field-goal attempt is just 5.3 feet. And that's the highest it's been with the Heat and second-farthest of his career. While he's slightly less active at the rim this season, he's also attempting fewer shots outside the paint than he did last year.
| 2014-15 | 52.2 | 35.4 | 9.3 | 2.3 |
| 2015-16 | 50.3 | 31.7 | 10.4 | 7.5 |
| 2016-17 | 46.1 | 37.4 | 9.8 | 6.7 |
The formula is simple: Whiteside emphasizes his strengths but diversifies his offense enough to avoid the "specialist" tag. He's a bulldozer exploding out of screens—80th percentile as pick-and-roll screener—but if defenses sag off him, he can pop out for jumpers or face up and attack.
Whether the mid-range-and-in style is the best analytical approach might be debatable, but it's where he's most comfortable. And most productive.
He's tied for the league lead and paces all bigs with 20 double-doubles. He's also averaging at least 15 points and 12 rebounds, a stat line only six players—all of them All-Stars—have posted since 2010.
The new-look Heat need Whiteside at his best. He's not only their highest-paid active player, but he's also their top producer in rebounds (14.7) and blocks (2.3), second-best scorer (17.4) and third-most utilized player in both minutes (33.2) and usage percentage (23.9).
"When he's playing at a high level, we're a completely different basketball team," Spoelstra said, "and it's obvious for everybody to see."
Having Whiteside try to add a three ball midseason doesn't sound like the recipe to keeping him at a high level. But could it be something to monitor down the line?
That depends who you ask.
Whiteside laughed off the notion of ever taking aim from outside. His goals are sharpening his current skills—"I'm still trying to break 12 blocks," he said, "I'm trying to beat my triple-double"—and finding a higher level of consistency.
But those who've seen his in-game jumpers and practice-court triples think the mechanics could be there to support a long-range shot with a focused effort on finding it.
"If he actually works on it for like a whole summer and doesn't just play around with it, I think he could maybe," Richardson said.
Heat Insider's Notebook
Budding Frontcourt Connection
The old adage about necessity spawning invention may have helped Miami uncover a new lethal weapon. With Whiteside battling foul trouble during Miami's 102-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, Spoelstra handed the frontcourt keys to the modern, versatile combo of James Johnson and Justise Winslow.
The do-everything forwards played all but three seconds together in the fourth quarter, which the Heat won 29-23. Clippers All-Star forward Blake Griffin was held scoreless during the period, while Winslow pumped in 10 of his 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
"We're still trying to figure out how to play with each other on the fly," Winslow said, "but we're definitely deadly offensively and defensively when we're out there on the floor."
Depending on the matchup, Winslow and Johnson can either man both forward spots or slide up to the 4 and 5 positions. Given the up-and-down play of Miami's other non-Whiteside bigs, Johnson's unexpected breakout and Winslow's pedigree, this two-man look opens myriad possibilities both ways.
The pair can defend inside and out, create on the ball or play off it, and change the game with hustle and athleticism.
Johnson and Winslow have only played 137 minutes together this season, during which the Heat have tallied a plus-3.3 net efficiency rating. That's Miami's fourth-highest mark among its 45 tandems who have played at least 130 minutes and would rank eighth overall.
The Dion Waiters Dilemma
Few Heat players can match Dion Waiters' volume production. Despite not suiting up since Nov. 26 (groin), he still holds the team's third-highest scoring average (14.2) and second-best assist rate (3.9).
But it's unclear what those numbers signify about Waiters' impact and ideal role.
On the season, Miami's offense has fared 2.9 points worse per 100 possessions with him than without. And the attack has seen more scoring, better shooting, increased ball movement and fewer giveaways since he went down.
Those numbers don't suggest Waiters should be banished from the rotation. In fact, the Heat's overall efficiency was better before he went down (minus-2.2 to minus-3.9), as the defense has deeply regressed.
But this lends credence to the belief that Miami is better served bringing Waiters off the bench.
Goran Dragic has been a different player without him—21.8 points and 7.8 assists, up from 15.3 and 5.6—and the Heat lack the individual scoring punch to pick isolation hoops over movement.
Whenever Waiters gets back—Spoelstra said he's "making progress" but doesn't have a timetable—Miami's starting five should have another shuffle.
Richardson and Wayne Ellington look like ideal complements for Dragic, while Waiters and Tyler Johnson can share primary scoring and facilitating duties on the second team. Rodney McGruder, then, could provide depth and occasional energy bursts on the wing.
All quotes obtained firsthand. Statistics accurate through games played Saturday, Dec. 17, and used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
Zach Buckley covers the Miami Heat for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @ZachBuckleyNBA.
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