3-Man Weave: How good are the Heat? Is Hassan Whiteside an elite center?
The Heat have revamped their roster in the offseason and are certainly deeper and healthier than a year ago. Is Miami good enough to win consistently this season or will it be just another team slightly hovering above .500?
By
Eye on Basketball staff
•
6 min read
It's fair to say the Miami Heat endured a rough 2014-15 season. It began in the offseason when LeBron James decided to take his talents back to Cleveland -- a loss that would devastate any franchise. Miami also had more than its fair share of injuries throughout the course of the season, none more significant than Chris Bosh leaving in February due to life-threatening blood clots on his lung. He would not return again that season.
In the end, Miami used a franchise-record 30 different starting lineups and ended up missing the postseason for the first time since 2007-08.
This offseason, however, the Heat not only have a healthy Bosh back, they boast a starting unit that also includes Goran Dragic, Wade, Deng and Hassan Whiteside, who turned heads in his first season in Miami. They also drafted Justise Winslow to add to a revamped bench that includes Josh McRoberts (also healthy after season-ending knee surgery) and offseason acquisition Gerald Green.
So far this season, the Heat have been hovering above .500 and have yet to win back-to-back games although they have at times flashed signs of being a legit contender.
Can the Heat gain some traction and be a legit contender in in the East? Do they just need more time to build chemistry with one another, or will they continue to struggle with consistency? Also, can Whiteside continue to grow as a playmaking center and possibly join the elite ranks at his position?
We ask our NBA guys these questions in our latest 3-Man Weave.
1. The Heat have been anything but consistent so far. Is this what we should expect all season?
Zach Harper: I think you're going to see the Heat get out ahead of things in the next couple of weeks because their schedule is pretty favorable. At the same time, it will probably highlight just how inconsistent they will be all season. The schedule gets tougher in December and is really hard in January. This will be when the flaws of the Heat are seen the most and they'll have to figure out a way to overcome them.
Part of the problem with the Heat is they simply don't have enough shooters. They're relying on Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts to stretch the floor because their starting wings (Luol Deng and Dwyane Wade) aren't threats out there. They want to push the pace, in theory, but Wade isn't much slower with the ball than they'd like. It's their main way of setting up mismatches in their quick attacks, but with such a big imbalance between Wade's usage and Goran Dragic's usage, there is no rhythm. If they can't figure out a move to balance out the attack by acquiring another shooter, I'm guessing they'll only be as consistent as their schedule allows them to be this season.
Matt Moore: They're making progress. They lost to a really good Atlanta team and had a good chance of winning the game vs. Indiana, Paul George just went supernova. The offense is still moving and they're getting contributions from a lot of guys, not just the stars. Justise Winslow, Tyler Johnson, they're getting contributions from everyone, and that makes them much better. I could see a trade coming for either Luol Deng or Mario Chalmers, but overall, I think they're right where they need to be. With Lakers, Wolves, Kings and Sixers coming up for them they've got a chance to start getting some momentum. If they struggle there, it's time to be concerned about their consistency.
Ananth Pandian: On the contrary, I believe that despite their 4-3 record, the Heat have had a strong start to the season. They’ve clobbered both the Raptors and Rockets, two teams that will likely finish near the top of their respective conferences. Miami's three losses have come against some of the league's elite teams in the Cavs and Hawks. They also narrowly lost to the Pacers but that was mainly because Paul George has found his stride and is playing like a superstar again.
Miami should finish the season as one of the top five or even top three teams in the East, but it will be a process to get to that mark. You have to remember that Chris Bosh and Goran Dragic are just now getting used to playing with each other. Bosh’s season ended early last year while Dragic only joined the team at last February’s trade deadline. It will take time for these two to develop some sort of chemistry and familiarity on the court. Couple this with rookie Justise Winslow finding his role in the rotation and the return of Josh McRoberts, the Heat are fielding a team that may have several returning players but have not really played with each other before. That's why it isn't surprising that Miami lost to the Cavs and the Hawks. Those are two teams that have continuity, having roughly the same roster that they had last year.
Don’t read too much into the Heat’s record. They are heading in the right direction.
2. Has Hassan Whiteside shown you enough to consider him an elite center in the NBA?
Harper: Elite? That would mean he's comparable to guys like Marc Gasol, DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard, and now Andre Drummond. You'd have to be insane to lump Whiteside in with those guys. The tricky thing with enjoying the incredible individual stats that Whiteside puts up is trying to figure out just how much they impact the team. He's a guy who blocks shots but the team is noticeably and measurably better defensively when he's not on the floor. He's a bad pick-and-roll defender because he's not very mobile.
However, on offense he seems to be making a real impact. Some of that is the bench hasn't been good on offense and some of that is playing with the starters, who are just better scoring the ball. But Whiteside's ability to keep possessions alive with his offensive rebounding and his finishing around the basket make the defense react. He's never going to move the ball to another scoring option, but as long as he's continuing to score at a high rate, none of that matters. He's working his way up the center ranks, but we still need to see consistency with both his production and his impact before we start considering him one of the top guys at the position.
Moore: Not nearly enough. There's real progress he needs to make in sound defense vs. chasing highlights. The defense is 14 points better per 100 possessions with Whiteside OFF the floor, rather than on, and he has the third-worst defensive rating of any rotation player. Whiteside is producing, and that matters, but when you look at what DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard or even Karl-Anthony Towns is doing, Whiteside has a long way to go to providing meaningful impact beyond big blocks, and that's before any issues with maturity. Long way to go.
Pandian: Whiteside is an excellent shot blocker and rebounder but calling him elite is a bit of a stretch. He does everything the Heat need him to do really, really well though.
Whiteside clearly excels at defense. Averaging 4.0 blocks a game, and is tied for first in blocks per game in the NBA with Utah’s Rudy Gobert. His insane wing-span causes havoc on defense, affecting opponent’s shot attempts while giving the Heat an interior defensive presence that they haven’t had since the glory days of Alonzo Mourning.
Offensively, Whiteside doesn’t need to have any plays run for him as he is averaging 14.7 points per game mainly on putbacks and dunks. Averaging a double-double (he is grabbing 10.9 rebounds a game), Whiteside is an excellent center and could potentially be an All-Star in the East. However, to get to that elite status, he will have to develop a more polished post game and become a more robust offensive and defensive player. At 26 years old and having hardly played in the NBA before last season, Whiteside will likely keep evolving as a player, rounding out his skill set in the process. However, at this stage of his career, Whiteside has found the perfect niche for himself with the Heat, where he is elite in his role on the team.
