NBA Miami Heat

Hassan Whiteside Will Now Be Relied On More Than Ever

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By @outofboundsjay

February 22, 2015; Raj Mehta; Hassan Whiteside

Raj Mehta – USA Today Sports

The news of Chris Bosh’s season-ending injury is absolutely devastating for the Miami Heat. Just when the franchise had signed arguably one of the top 10 best point guards in the NBA to pair with the Dwyane Wade in the backcourt, the Heat lose their best front court player for the rest of the season. Still, this team wont be hanging their heads with just 30 games left in the season, as a playoff seed is still a very viable option in the Eastern Conference.

The trade that brought in Goran Dragic also took away three players from the Heat’s front court rotation, so with the injury to Bosh, that leaves just three players qualified to play minutes at power forward or center: Chris Andersen, Udonis Haslem and Hassan Whiteside. Out of those three players, Whiteside’s impact will have the most direct correlation to how this team succeeds going forward. Already leading the team in rebounds and blocks per game, Whiteside will now be asked to take on even more of an offensive role with Bosh not there to supply points for the starting lineup’s front court rotation.

Whiteside is already averaging 10.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks on a ridiculous 63 percent shooting from the field this season, so an even higher uptick in production is hard to imagine. But with Bosh out, Whiteside will now be the focal point of the Heat’s front court attack offensively and defensively. How he handles it will determine just how far the Heat go in the playoffs.

Jared Doyle is a Miami Heat writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @outofboundsjay, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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