5. He’ll Have Help
Recent reports suggest that this new Heat team may attempt to surround Whiteside with shooters in case he gets double-teamed or is struggling down low. When we look at some of the guys the team has signed this offseason, it certainly looks like that may indeed be the game plan. The newly acquired Wayne Elllington is a guard/forward combo with a career three-point average of 37.6 percent. Meanwhile, guys like Luke Babbitt and Josh Richardson sport career averages of over 40 percent from beyond the arc. Even Dragic and James Johnson have been known to knock down threes when needed. This means Whiteside will have plenty of options to pass to when teams focus on preventing him from doing his thing at the rim.
Think Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic circa 2009. That was a team comprised of almost nothing but three-point specialists with Howard doing the dirty work down low. They made it to the NBA Finals with that strategy. Also, according to Whiteside, he should have no problem getting the ball to his open shooters this year:
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“I’m a great passer. I just have to show you all. Most of the time (last season), I was just the guy dunking the ball. I was giving people assists instead of giving out assists,” Whiteside recently told the media.
While Whiteside knows he still has to prove his passing ability can be an asset, he understands that the ball will be in his hands a lot more this season and, at times, the best choice will be to get rid of it:
“If guys are open I’m going to give it to them,” Whiteside said. “I think it’s really more so playmaking and about my usage rate, how many times I touch the ball in that situation. So, I should have a lot more assists.”
All these factors mentioned above should combine to really catapult Whiteside’s game to the next level in 2016-17. Given these new opportunities to shine and excel, the Heat’s prized big man could very likely average 20+ points 12+ rebounds and 3+ blocks per game, which would make him a bonafide All-Star center in the NBA.
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