Hassan Whiteside Looking To Put Last Season Behind Him

Despite a rough 2017/18 campaign that saw him miss 28 games and included a relatively infamous rant about a lack of playing time, Heat center Hassan Whiteside is ready for a fresh start, reports Shandel Richardson of the Sun-Sentinel.

“I feel great,” Whiteside said recently. “I feel a lot better than I did during (last) season. I’m completely healed. I feel like my regular self again.”

Whiteside, who dealt with both knee and hip injuries last season, averaged just 25.3 minutes per game, his lowest since his first season with the Heat in 2014/15. Moreover, he was often benched during fourth quarters and averaged a mere 15.4 MPG in the Heat’s first-round playoff series loss to the Sixers.

In regard to a recent meeting with both head coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley, Whiteside says things are much better than a year ago.

“We had a great talk,” Whiteside said. “I just think it’s trust on both sides. I think that’s the biggest thing … It was about a four-hour meeting. It was a lot about life. It was two hours basketball, two hours life. It was a good meeting.

Whiteside, 29, led the lead in blocks during the 2015/16 season en route to being named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. He followed that up by leading the NBA in rebounds with 14.1 per game during the 2016/17 campaign. He will look to regain that form this season.

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