MIAMI — Every time Hassan Whiteside appears on the floor now, there's an assumption his output will be astonishing. There's an expectation the NBA's unforeseen emerging force will stamp the stat sheet with some more say-what-wait-what(?!) numbers.
That's precisely what was happening here again Friday against the contending Mavericks and formidable center Tyson Chandler. The shorthanded Heat rode his ridiculous rebounding, 14 in the first seven minutes, into a sizable lead.
But that's not how this night will be remembered, not if the Heat wish to remember it at all. They allowed a 37-2 second-half run to the Mavericks, including 21-0 with Whiteside watching. It rendered his rebound total (24), tied for the second-highest mark in franchise history, just a trampled footnote in a 93-72 defeat.
This was the night when Hassan-ity officially went from novelty to necessity.
That's where the Heat are this season, 20-26 and desperate for any positives in their first post-LeBron James campaign. That's the level Whiteside has reached this month. He's risen as ...
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Article written by Ethan Skolnick