4. Contributions to the Heat’s Defense
A reoccurring theme in this article has been about Whiteside’s dominance, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
Because Hassan has only played in 35 games this season, he does not qualify for the majority of advanced metric statistics. However, if one is to take a look at the 7-foot center’s stats, they would see that he would rank among the league leaders had he played in enough games.
For example, the league leader among all qualified players in rebounding rate is DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers. Jordan is grabbing boards at a 23.9 percentage clip.
What is Whiteside’s rebounding rate number? It’s 27.2 percent. That numbers not only exceeds Jordan’s, but blows it out of the water.
The league leader in offensive rebounding rate is the Detroit Pistons’ Andre Drummond, who is grabbing offensive boards at a 17.4 percent clip.
Guess what? Whiteside’s offensive rebounding rate is at 17.4 also.
The NBA’s block percentage leader is the Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert, who has a clip of 7.7 percent.
Whiteside’s block percentage number is an astronomical 9.3 percent.
It’s not only that Hassan would be leading all three of these major categories had he played the entire season; it’s that he’s far and away the most dominant player in all three metric categories.
Next: Biggest Impact out of Contenders
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