At one point Hassan Whiteside couldn’t get an NBA team to look at him. “Especially this team (the Clippers),” Whiteside was quick to recall in a postgame interview after his 23 points, 16 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots in the Miami HEAT’s 104-90 win visiting those same Los Angeles Clippers. Doc Rivers wouldn’t even give Whiteside a workout, the player remembers. “I got a chip on my shoulder,” Whiteside says. That chip must be light as a feather though because Whiteside has been flying through the air, making his old doubters duck their heads.
The Clipper performance came a week after Whiteside started the new year with a 14-point, 5-dunk effort against against Dwight Howard and the Rockets. Whiteside who came to the league the same year (2010) as Indiana superstar Paul George but flamed out–D-League and Europe–before getting a fresh shot this fall. He’s making the most of it. With Miami since November, Whiteside is averaging almost 14 points, more than 10 rebounds and 3.5 blocks over the last six games. Somebody forgot that Hassan Whiteside has a 7’7″ wingspan.
