Whiteside blames new role under Spoelstra for struggles with Heat
Hassan Whiteside finished with five points, two rebounds and four fouls in Miami's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers and he was not happy.
Hassan Whiteside is still not happy about his role and reduced minutes as he blamed Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra for his struggles following Thursday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Whiteside finished with five points, two rebounds and four fouls in Miami's 128-108 game-three loss to the Sixers in their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
After the Heat fell 2-1 behind the Sixers, Whiteside blamed Spoelstra for changing his role in offense.
"It's just different, man," Whiteside told reporters. "I feel like our offense is a lot different. I'm not as involved in as many dribble handoffs as I was and postups as I was in the regular season. That's what coach wants.
"Coach wants me to just be in the corner and set picks. That's what he wants. I've just got to trust it."
Whiteside did not hold back in venting his frustrations earlier this month after playing 20 minutes against the Brooklyn Nets before being benched for all of the fourth quarter and overtime.
"A lot of teams don't have a good center," Whiteside then told reporters. "They are going to use their strengths. It's bull*** It's really bull****, man. There are a lot of teams that can use a center."
It was more of the same on Thursday. After telling reporters about how little he is used in the Heat's offense, Whiteside said Joel Embiid "lives a big man's dream" with the Sixers.
"They run enough plays for him that he's going to get his numbers," Whiteside said. "I don't really get caught up in that. He lives a big man's dream. He gets the ball, he gets the post up every other play. They pretty much run a lot of stuff through him and Ben Simmons. His shot attempts are going to be there."
During the game it was easy to notice Whiteside's frustration during the 20-point loss.
Whiteside signed a four-year, $98million contract in 2016 but has seen his numbers and playing time drop this season while dealing with a plethora of injuries.