3. More Minutes
With great power comes great responsibility and a significant increase in minutes. In his first two seasons with the Sacramento Kings, Whiteside hardly played at all. In his season and a half with the Heat, he only only averaged a combined 26.5 minutes per game. This season, he will be expected to play more than 30 minutes per game as the team’s starting center and highest-paid player (aside from Chris Bosh).
Naturally, more minutes means more opportunities. It means more time to block shots, pull down rebounds and put up points. It will also provide him with more experience and more time to improve his overall game. DeMarcus Cousins, who is largely considered to be the best big man in the league, averaged 34.6 minutes per game last season. Imagine what Whiteside could do with all that extra time on the court.
Coach Spoelstra has already laid out his expectations for the seven-footer this season:
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“He will have to be able to absorb more minutes, more responsibility, more games,” said Spoelstra to the media.
He then added:
“I’m not going to stand in his way and put a ceiling on where he can go and who he can become as a basketball player, I want him to embrace all the challenges. I want him to be one of the best players in this league. He has that type of potential.”
Next: A Better System
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