Windhorst: Hassan Whiteside "Not Actually Making a Difference"
Hassan Whiteside has finally passed the Google test after terrorizing the NBA out of nowhere since the beginning of January. It has taken a month to get featured by a plethora of national media outlets, yet one NBA insider questions his overall impact with the Miami Heat.
"Hassan Whiteside has been an incredible story," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said Monday morning on the Joe Rose Show on WQAM. "It's one of the most remarkable things I've seen in the NBA in years but his dominating play has not very often led to victories. So he's not actually making a difference. He's making a difference in thoughts for the future and the way the Heat look and things like that but he's not making a difference in the win column."
While his play hasn't directly led to a huge boost in wins, it doesn't mean he hasn't made a difference. Check out this jolting stat by Tom Haberstroh, Windhorst's co-worker.
Since Hassan Whiteside joined the team, the Heat are -196 with him on the bench and +20 when he's on the court. Can he play all 48?
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) February 5, 2015
What isn't up for debate is Whiteside's eye-popping numbers, eclipsing 13 points and 12 rebounds four times in the month of January. "Nobody can explain it," Windhorst said. "The rebound numbers are obviously impressive but the blocked shots -- he's blocking like a 10 or 11-percent of the two-point shots when he's on the court. It's an unbelievable statistic. My training, my sensability says it cannot last, that this is just a brush fire, but I think sensibilities, when it comes to Whiteside, are thrown out."
As for how the Heat can improve this season around their rising seven-footer seemingly sent down from the Basketball Gods, Windhorst doesn't think anything substantial in the form of trades can get done because Miami doesn't possess many tradeable assets, naming Norris Cole as the most likely Heat player to get moved.
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As for where free agent guard Ray Allen will end up, Windhorst reports the Cavs are "confident" in landing the future hall-of-fame sharpshooter, but that his best fit is not in Cleveland.
"The Cavs feel like he's been ticketed there all along," Windhorst said. "They feel like that's his spot because of his relationship with LeBron, Mike Miller, and James Jones.
"But I don't see a great fit in Cleveland. Where I see the fit is in Atlanta. The Hawks are in need of an extra wing player."
Atlanta has the second best record in the league at 42-10, while Cleveland has surged to 32-21 after winning nine of their last 10. The conversation shifted to the gutter of the NBA, where the 10-41 Knicks have made themselves comfortable in Phil Jackson's first year as team president.
"I think the problem with Phil Jackson is everything he's done has failed so far," Windhorst said. "Everything. Where is your faith? I never understood it from the start. He's a great coach, but they didn't hire him to coach.
"And I honestly don't think he wanted the job but they just kept offering more and more and more money. The trades that he's made since he got there have been awful."
Windhorst says the only way Phil's $60 million contract gets validated is if he's able to "lure Marc Gasol or LaMarcus Aldridge or some other star" this summer.
Carmelo Anthony and the abysmal Knicks visit the Heat tonight, with Miami tied with Brooklyn for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Hassan Whiteside is recovering from an ankle sprain and has been listed as questionable, as is Dwyane Wade who could miss his sixth straight game with a hamstring injury.
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