Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Hassan Whiteside’s chat with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller on The OGs podcast and more

Pat Riley tried to break Hassan Whiteside. His method was having him run up and down the floor, dunking on each hoop until he gave out. Whiteside said he jammed about “127” times and that it was the toughest workout he’s ever had.

The session was in 2014 after the Memphis Grizzlies cut him. Riley probably yelled, grinning, “Only your best,” as a callback to his coaching days, when he nearly broke everyone and left plenty shaken. 

Soon afterward, Whiteside was signed to the Heat on a two-season, non-guaranteed contract. 

In 2015-16, Whiteside was the NBA’s block leader (3.7) and was named to the All-Defensive Second Team. He was the rebounding champ in 2016-17, too.

In 2016, he signed a four-year, $98 million deal to be the Heat’s franchise player. But that never took off because he wasn’t good enough and had a low-powered motor. 

He was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2019 as part of a four-team swap that included the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers that brought Jimmy Butler to Miami. 

Recently, former Laker Mychal Thompson joked on X,  formerly Twitter, about which task is more difficult- getting through one of Riley’s practices or watching his three-year-old grandson, Roman. “Both things make me feel like I just went [through] Navy Seal training…” Thompson said. 

Whiteside’s favorite memories in black were meeting Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, balling out against the Chicago Bulls, and going viral with the “I’m just trying to get my 2K rating up” presser. Whiteside credited Bosh for being a positive influence in his career.

His least favorite arena to play in was TD Garden. On a trip to Boston, Whiteside recalled it was “-13° “and the building was in the 40s. He said Erik Spoelstra tried to give one of the uplifting “mano-to-mano” speeches. Haslem, who was still playing then, commented that the team was “shaking like a Chevy.”

Furthermore, Whiteside is doing well with his trucking plus real estate ventures. And he’s in great shape in his retirement.

It would help the Heat to play faster

The Heat have averaged the 28th slowest pace in the Jimmy Butler era. On top of that, the group has ranked 22nd in fast break points and eighth in transition digits per possession. 

Never forget, Heat president Pat Riley was once quoted in Scott Ostler and Steve Springer’s Winnin Times: The Magical Journey of the Los Angeles Lakers, “Whether it’s for Showtime, or whether it’s for marketing, or it’s for his [Buss’s] whim, that’s how I like to play,” Riley says of fast-break basketball. “That’s how I was taught. It’s the best way to play basketball, the most fun way and most conducive to the kind of talent that comes off college campuses now. They are very agile, versatile, quick athletes whose instincts are to attack. I will always continue to be big on the wide-open running game.”

The open-court attack is one of the Heat’s weaknesses. There aren’t many burners on the team, but the pass is faster than the bounce. It would benefit Bam Adebayo to have more fast break opportunities, considering his superior athleticism to everyone on the team, his size and catch radius. 

The tools to upgrade the quick assault are there. Over the last five years, the squad had defended the top of the key well, allowing rivals 34.5% of hoisted shots. Further disruption up top and in the corners leads to long rebounds, which put the recovering unit in a favorable position to take off. Haywood Highsmith is the Heat’s best point-of-attack defender, and he can generate turnovers above.  Adebayo tags the back first but can switch to the front. Remember, they’ve been strong on the defensive glass, ranking among the top eight teams in that department over the last five years.

Some of the keys are unleashing Butler, Adebayo and Nikola Jović. Still, they must raise the intensity on the defensive glass and dish the outlet pass sooner.  Everybody who doesn’t get the rebound must run their lanes quickly to create a numbers advantage. 

The Heat were in 13 games ended by a differential of three points or fewer. The record was 8-5, averaging 11.8 fastbreak points. The squad isn’t getting enough easy baskets in close games. They must play quicker without sacrificing the defense. 

—

For more info on the Heat, subscribe to Off The Floor.