When a coach and player don’t see eye-to-eye on how many minutes that player should be getting, the situation can often become contentious. When that situation involves the team’s highest paid player, who has won a rebounding title and led the league in blocks, it can become flammable to a team’s fabric and focus.
Thus far, conversations between Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and center Hassan Whiteside haven’t reached a boiling point over the number of minutes Miami’s starting center has received since coming back from a 13-game absence. But there’s no telling what might happen if the Heat, 22-17 entering Tuesday’s game against the Raptors, suddenly start to struggle and Whiteside remains a spectator on the bench.