Hassan Whiteside: Closes preseason out on a high note

During his six preseason appearances, Whiteside didn’t carry over the accuracy from the free-throw line he displayed in the second half of last season, going just 17-for-31 (54.8%), but that’s about the only criticism that can be levied against him. The 27-year-old thrived while taking on a more prominent role for a Heat team that lost significant personnel in the offseason, supplying 15.1 points (on 65.4% shooting from the field), 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in just 22.1 minutes per game. He’s sure to put up plenty of fat stat lines when he receives more enhanced workloads during the regular season.