Heat's Riley says Whiteside wasn't ready for playoffs
Miami Heat president Pat Riley took one of his best players to task on Monday, saying center Hassan Whiteside wasn't physically or mentally prepared for the team's first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
"There's no doubt he was in a bad state in the playoffs," Riley said of Whiteside. "Whatever the reasons why, I have not really sat down with (head coach Erik Spoelstra) and really talked about all of these things. Hassan was less-than, without a doubt, in the playoffs. I'm not going to give him any kind of excuse. But the season started with an injury, and all year long there was a dilemma of some kind.
"By the time we got to the playoffs, I don't think he was ready. He wasn't in great shape. He wasn't fully conditioned for a playoff battle mentally. He and we got our heads handed to us."
The Heat were eliminated by the 76ers in five games, losing three by more than 10 points. Whiteside averaged 5.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 15.4 minutes against the Sixers, struggling in his matchup against fellow big man Joel Embiid, who averaged 18.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks while only playing the final three games of the series.
Whiteside was at his worst in the decisive Game 5, when he scored two points in 10 minutes.
Whiteside, who missed extended periods of time with knee and hip injuries this season, publicly complained about his role after a loss in Game 3, a similar reaction to his expletive-filled rant at the end of March that earned him a fine from the team. Although Spoelstra came to Whiteside's defense during his season-ending press conference last Friday, Riley acknowledges that the player and the coach have a fractured relationship.
"The disconnect between (Whiteside) and Spo, that's going to take a discussion between them and it's going to take thought on the part of coach and also Hassan," Riley said. "How will Hassan transform his thinking -- 99 percent of it -- to get the kind of improvement that Spo wants so he can be effective? How can Spo transform his thinking when it comes to offense and defense and minutes or whatever?
"(Whiteside) had a bad year this year. He's got to come back strong next year. I'm going to try to help him as much as I can. I'm going to try to help the both of them so we can keep him on the court 30 minutes a game. But he's got to help himself."
Whiteside has two years remaining on his four-year, $98.4 million deal with the Heat. Riley indicated that no Miami player will be untouchable this offseason.
"It's not good enough to just be a playoff team," Riley said. "I truly believe we were a playoff team last year. We didn't make it the last day of the season. Making the playoffs is not like wearing a badge of honor. It's your opportunity to do something significant. We didn't do a very good job against Philadelphia."
--Field Level Media
