The Miami Heat were bounced from the NBA Playoffs in the first round, with center Hassan Whiteside spending much of that period disgruntled on the bench.
That is something team president Pat Riley is hoping to fix.
In his season-ending news conference Monday, Riley said he didn’t blame coach Erik Spoelstra for going away from Whiteside during the playoffs, while also offering to mediate a truce between the coach and the talented big man.
Riley on Whiteside, "If there has to be an intervention, I'm going to be the intervener."
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) April 30, 2018
Riley says Whiteside was not in great shape for playoffs.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) April 30, 2018
Riley on Spoelstra and Whiteside, "I'm going to try to help the both of them come together."
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) April 30, 2018
Riley on Whiteside in Game 5, "I would have taken him out of that game, too."
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) April 30, 2018
Whiteside played just 15.4 minutes per game in Miami’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, and he made clear that he wasn’t happy with his situation. Riley is going to have a big job patching things up, though it sounds like he’s taking his coach’s side here.
