The Miami Heat are desperately trying to hold on to the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. To make matters worse, they’re being forced to play without big men Josh McRoberts and Chris Bosh down this final stretch of the season.
Today, they’re receiving more bad news as it appears their sensation at center will be out indefinitely while recovering from a slice in his hand.
The Miami Heat could be without starting center Hassan Whiteside for a while after suffering a hand injury during Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Whiteside has a good size cut on his right hand (between the middle and ring fingers) and he needed 10 stitches to close it, reports Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com.
“I don’t know if I am going to be able to play tomorrow,” Whiteside said. “We are going to see how it feels, day to day. … I can’t feel my hand right now. I’ll know tomorrow morning it will be throbbing and I will feel the pain a lot more.”
“You got to be careful with stitches,” Whiteside said. “You don’t want to open it up or get it infected. So they basically said day to day … we will see what happens.”
Whiteside has been a revelation for the Heat as the journeyman has become a star. Since signing a non-guaranteed, minimum contract with Miami, Whiteside is averaging 11.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. He also has an outstanding PER of 26.47.
In case you haven’t been paying attention to the East in the NBA, Whiteside has been a beast defensively for the Heat this year while averaging nearly a double-double every night.
No doubt his absence will serve as a major factor going forward, but my guess is that no one is stopping the Wade-train from reaching the playoffs this year.
H/T ESPN
