Hassan Whiteside, the rising center of the Miami Heat, will be slowed down a bit in the coming NBA games with the shot-blocking phenom reportedly bothered by sore knees.
Whiteside told the Sun Sentinel that he was bothered by his knee's soreness only last Monday after playing 30 minutes in the team's victory against the Washington Wizards.
He felt uneasy as he was on the plane from Washington, but it was Monday when the pain really radiated and felt the brunt of it.
It remains to be seen if the soreness will show any serious injury that Whiteside needs to be concerned about but the slotman bares that he will just follow medical orders.
In his absence, the Heat turned to veteran center Chris Andersen to fill in for Whiteside in the meantime. Andersen played some minutes against the Indiana Pacers, but coach Erik Spoelstra ended up using Chris Bosh at center with a smaller lineup.
Whiteside has been the key to the Heat's newfound defensive matrix, averaging four blocks a night to lead the league in that category. Along with the scrappy defense being shown by Justise Winslow and Gerald Green, the defensive effort has helped the Heat rack up a 21-14 win-loss record that is good for third place in the Eastern Conference standings.
With Whiteside out, the Heat are expected to make the necessary adjustments to cover for him until he is up and able to return to action.
Another veteran, Udonis Haslem, could be called on to fill in for Whiteside as well. But it remains to be seen if Whiteside's minor setback will leave a gaping hole in the middle for the Heat.
Whiteside is confident that he can return in no time, believing that all his knee would need is rest and possibly some treatment to tone down the soreness.
