Dissecting Hassan Whiteside's Impact By The Numbers
Hassan Whiteside's reign of terror inside the paint continues for the Miami Heat center, tacking on another double-double last night in his first career start with 10 points and 12 rebounds in a 104-89 loss to the dominant Warriors. Since joining Miami's regular rotation in the final days of December, he's undoubtedly made his presence felt on both ends of the court.
- Advanced metrics strongly support Whiteside's case, but it's important to keep the 15-game sample size in the back of your mind even if it downplays the moment. Among all NBA centers, he ranks second in PER (behind DeMarcus Cousins), 10th in Real Plus-Minus, third in rebound rate, and first in blocks per 48 minutes. As for personal rim protection, Whiteside ranks fifth in opponent field-goal percentage at the rim (43.7%) with a minimum of five attempts per game. He's even starting to make a conscientious effort when blocking shots to keep the ball inbounds and direct it toward a teammate.
- The Heat outscore opponents by two points per 100 possessions with Whiteside on the court. This ranks second among Heat players, behind only the injured Josh McRoberts (+6.1).
- On a team level, Miami's defensive efficiency was in the dumps before Whiteside's infusion into the rotation. They had ranked in the bottom quarter of the league for most of the season. January has been a different story, however, where the team is 12th over their last six games.
- Hassan's shot chart might not show diversity as far as shot location, but he's been insanely effective at the rim, seemingly throwing down everything in sight.
Friday night will be an intriguing matchup for Whiteside if he gets the starting nod in Sacramento. One of the league's top young big men in DeMarcus Cousins awaits.
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All statistics used in this article were sourced from ESPN or NBA.com
