|
 What he couldn't have even dreamed out, though, is Hassan
Whiteside.
Who?
Hassan Whiteside, a 25-year-old basketball vagabond of a center who
has burst onto the NBA scene with some wild numbers, capped by 20
points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots in Sunday's 83-75
victory over the Boston Celtics.
"He continues to surprise me," Chris Bosh said after the Heat blew a
15-point lead but never trailed in going to 21-26. "He's a talented
young fella. We want to continue to push him and encourage him to
play and do well."
This is what Whiteside has done in the last four games:
He came off the bench at Chicago with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 12
-- yes, 12 -- blocked shots in 24:37. Added to the starting lineup,
he went for 16 points and 16 boards at home against Milwaukee, and
then had 16 points and 24 -- yes, 24 -- boards in a terrible loss to
the Dallas Mavericks.
He is 29 of 50 from the floor.
 "If it falls within the context of what we do, he has good touch,"
Spoelstra said. " ... If he's wide open and they're disrespecting
him and it comes within the flow of what we do, I'm fine with that."
The 7-footer, who has toiled in the D-League and overseas, scored
the last four points for his team in the third quarter and the
game's first six of the fourth as the Heat, after blowing the lead,
used an 8-0 run at the start of the quarter.
Miami, playing without the injured Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng (and,
of course, the departed James and Allen), still managed the win and
to stay afloat in the year after LeBron.
Bosh, coming off a 5 of 18 game against Dallas, still struggled from
the field, going 6 of 19. But the forward scored 18 points and
grabbed seven boards. Guard Tyler Johnson, also a free agent and on
his second 10-day contract, came off the bench in his third NBA game
with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists (his NBA high in
everything, including 27 minutes) for the Heat in the opener of a
four-game trip.
With the local crowd thinking of the Super Bowl, which was hours
away, the Celtics, hitting their first seven shots of the second
half, overcame dreadful first half and fought back to tie, inciting
the crowd. But they never led.
"I just thought we were flat, as far as scoring the ball, in the
first half," said Boston coach Brad Stevens. "We've got to do a
better job of finding our pulse at the defensive end regardless of
whether the ball is going in the basket or not. That's a hard thing
to do -- a lot of teams struggle with that. But when you miss the
number of shots that we missed, I thought we let that affect how
much we talked defensively.
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"I could hear the silence and that's a bad thing when you're
trying to guard somebody."
Guard Avery Bradley and center Tyler Zeller led the Celtics (16-30)
with 17 points apiece, while forward Brandon Bass had 15 and rookie
guard Marcus Smart nine assists and five rebounds to go with three
points.
While guard Evan Turner is playing with an injured right thumb (he's
2 of 16 the last two games), Bradley said "I think I fractured" his
left thumb Sunday. "I fell on it. But it's fine," he said. "It's not
my shooting hand so I'll be OK."
Forward Tayshaun Prince, who made his home debut with the Celtics on
Friday night after coming over from Memphis, was on the bench in
uniform, but didn't play, sparking speculation he may well be on the
move again. But it turns out he has a hip flexor injury and tried it
pre-game before telling Stevens he couldn't go.
"We missed him," the coach said.
NOTES: With G Dwyane Wade (hamstring) not on the trip, F Luol Dang
(calf) worked out before the game but didn't dress for Miami. ...
Citing traffic, Celtics F Jared Sullinger was five minutes late for
the morning walkthrough and didn't start, coach Brad Stevens
insisting it was no big deal. Sullinger had been the only Celtic to
start every game. ... Rookie swingman James Young, fresh off going 9
of 13 from 3-point range for D-League Maine Red Claws on Saturday,
was back with the Celtics and played nine minutes. ... A Patriots
video and song fired the crowd, many wearing Patriots garb, up
during a second-half timeout. ... The Heat bolted after the game,
determined to make Detroit to watch The Game. ... G Mario Chalmers
played in his 486th game for Miami, tying him with Keith Askins for
fourth place on the team's all-time list. ... F Kelly Olynyk (ankle)
was still out for Boston. ... The Heat continue their four-game road
trip at Detroit on Tuesday night, while the Celtics, who opened a
stretch of five games in seven days Sunday, are at the New York
Knicks on the same night.
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Whiteside
does it again as Heat beat Celtics
