Believing in Hassan Whiteside

Hassan Whiteside, right, has battled his way into Jazz fans’ good graces. (Rick Bowmer via ESPN)

Talk about Hassan Whiteside on the internet, and you’ll hear about empty stats, mercurial play, or disinterest in the game. Whiteside can be a hard player to evaluate. He’s one of the largest humans in the NBA. He’s led the league twice in both rebounds and blocks. He makes athletic plays and has offensive touch.

Perhaps the best representation of that promise so far came in this excellent sequence, where he makes a spin move to dunk, followed by an emphatic block on the other end:

It’s a sequence we haven’t seen from backup centers in recent Jazz years. When Whiteside is on floor, eyes tend to gravitate toward him. And for watching Jazz fans, there’s a lot to like so far.

The defense is notable. Dan Clayton highlighted a jaw-dropping stat in the latest Salt City Seven column — with the appropriate small sample size caveat, of course: 

Gobert and Whiteside have been a formidable rim defense duo thus far, with both guys holding opponents to 50% shooting at the rim or under. Gobert’s defending 8.2 shots per game in the restricted area and limiting the adversary to 44.9% shooting, while Whiteside is holding foes to 50% on 5.7 nightly challenges at the rim. Indiana is the only other team with two players challenging at least 5 rim attempts per contest and holding opponents to 50% or under. Whiteside has just been a massively pleasant surprise. Even people who more or less saw the logic behind that signing didn’t imagine him playing this solidly as a paint protector.

(Note: since Dan wrote that, Whiteside’s rim defense has risen slightly to 53.1%, while Gobert’s has dropped to 41.9%.)

“He’s doing the things that helps us win,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “He’s impacting the game in a real way. That’s what we’re seeing.”

He’s also endorsed by teammate Donovan Mitchell: “He adds a level of toughness, as you saw tonight. Plays like that kind of define who we’re going to be. It was good for him and it was good for us.”

That was referencing Whiteside’s altercation with JaMychal Green. On one hand I wonder if we overvalue players’ involvement in on-court tussles, but the team certainly appreciates the toughness Whiteside brings. It’s a presence that’s felt lacking since Jae Crowder was traded.

Whiteside is playing within the system and within his role. That role includes matching up against starting-calibre centers for a few minutes in each half, a move that allows Gobert to split his rotations and demolish opposing bench units. It’s paying dividends. Since we’ve already given the sample size warning, here’s an unwieldy, yet eye-popping stat: in 99 minutes, Whiteside is a +30 on the floor. This will likely normalize, but most expected Whiteside to simply tread water until Gobert came in. Instead he’s been a big net positive.

Just wait

Hovering over all of this is the cautionary tale of “Yes, he’s playing well now, but just wait…” We’re clearly in the honeymoon phase with Whiteside, and we’ve seen up-and-downs throughout his career. His departure from the Heat, Kings, and to a lesser extent, the Blazers resulted in soured fans. 

So should we be holding our breath? I polled fans of the afore-mentioned franchises about what the Whiteside experience was like from their perspective, and what Jazz fans should look for moving forward.

To be honest, I’m actually encouraged by what I heard. Yes, Whiteside has not had a storybook-perfect career thus far. But I also believe he’s in the perfect situation to succeed. Coach Snyder said as much himself:

“Hassan’s in a really good place. I’m really glad he’s here. I felt strongly when I talked to him that we would be a really good fit for him, and I think he’s feeling that.”

On another occasion, Snyder said, “We forget a little bit: Hassan earned and was rewarded with a big contract in Miami. That wasn’t an accident… I think Hassan’s year last year was really an outlier. When you look at what he’s done — I think he’s in the top 4% defensive rebounding historically every year; that’s hard to do.”

So let’s dive into things to watch, and reasons to believe in Hassan.

Effort and interest level

The consensus among fans of Whiteside’s former teams is that he’s undeniably talented, but the effort was not always there. Heat fans noted that Hassan coasted at times after he earned his big contract. We’ve seen plenty of players let off the gas in a non-contract year. This should not be a factor for Whiteside now. He’s on a minimum contract, in a contract year, and was close to being out of the league. In that sense it’s hard to add in more motivation.

“In Portland, we had a good year, but I think they felt more comfortable going with Nurk when he came back,” Whiteside said of his time with the Blazers, where he produced well as a starter during Nurkic’s absence and may have felt some whiplash and lost interest when his role reduced. In Utah his role is clear and defined. The only thing that could really alter his well-defined rotation role in Utah is when and if Snyder plays Eric Paschall or Rudy Gay as a stretch five in certain situations.

Then he moved onto Sacramento for a season that was kind of a mess for the club and for Whiteside. “In Sacramento, that was a tough year for me,” the center explained. “I got COVID. I had injuries. I missed camp. I didn’t know what direction the team was going in. Some days, we were doing this. The next day, we were doing that.” If Hassan felt whiplash in Portland, it was taken to a whole different level in Sacramento. Beyond all the issues caused by COVID and injuries, Luke Walton is a small-ball coach, and not one I trust to maximize Whiteside’s skillset. Whiteside may have injuries throughout the year, and keep an eye on how that affects his motivation. But nothing should reach the level of mess he experienced last season.

Motivation should be further bolstered by playing for a legitimate championship contender. Whiteside has only reached the playoffs three times, and never made a deep run. “I want to be with the winners,” Whiteside said. “I have to prove that. I think I can contribute to a winning situation, but it’s up to me to show that. I led the league in multiple categories, but now I have to show that I can make an impact on winning and I want to be on that caliber of team. That’s why I signed with the Jazz.”

One last note on attitude — some fans commented on Whiteside’s penchant to sulk. Personally I would Hassan the opportunity to show that he’s matured since then. A micro example of this happened in the first quarter agains the Milwaukee Bucks. Whiteside was called for an over the back foul. First he said “Who, me?” and looked on the verge of complaining further — but then calmly nodded his head and trotted back on defense.

Empty stats and playing in the system

The other big talking point with Whiteside is empty stats. He can fill up a box score, but does his play lead to winning? Does Whiteside chase blocks when it would be better to hold a defensive position near the basket? So far this hasn’t been the case in Utah. It’s a delicate balance, because another knock on Hassan is that he doesn’t always close out against shooters. Both Gobert and Snyder should be helpful here.

The Jazz also need Whiteside to set solid screens — not something he’s been known for. These could still improve in Utah, especially when you compare them with Gobert’s. It’s a harsh comparison, as Rudy is probably the best screener in the game.

Getting more in the weeds, keep an eye on how Whiteside boxes out on shot, not to snag the rebound for himself, but to block opponent’s from jumping in. Also watch his rotations, whether he’s moving with purpose or weakly moving.

Offensively, Hassan is playing within the system. His usage rate of 16.8% is the lowest since his rookie system. As is his field goal attempts per 36. He’s not forcing shots, and we’ve seen him kick the ball out of the block when in trouble.

We could point to Quin’s coaching, Dywane Wade’s influence, or teammates’ leadership as reasons. But give Whiteside credit: through seven games he’s bought in and is playing to win.

Looking forward

Look, Whiteside has played so well, it’s hard to expect him to sustain this through the whole season. He will have slumps. He will probably have stretches where he’s less engaged. Sharks will swarm the first time he pouts on the bench or when he looks for his own shot to poor results. It’s worth remembering that all players have slumps, and few players are locked in the whole season.

With the poor 3-point shooting we look for process over results. The Jazz are getting good looks from three, and the shooting percentages should normalize over the season. With Whiteside, we should look for process as well. Is he making winning plays that don’t show up on the box score? How does he respond when he (or the team) face adversity? There’s a track record to be skeptical about, but there’s also a lot of reason to believe.

And if the Whiteside experience doesn’t work out, it’s only a minimum contract. Quin can try Paschall or Gay at the five or the Jazz can find another center with their final roster spot. But if it does work out, it’s incredible value. Contenders often rely on minimum contracts hitting. Last season the Clippers found success with Nicolas Batum, Reggie Jackson, and Terrance Mann. The Nets had Bruce Brown, Blake Griffin, and Jeff Green. The Suns had Cameron Payne, Frank Kaminsky, and Torrey Craig. We’ll see if Whiteside can produce in the playoffs as well as some of the players did, but so far the results have been encouraging.

Throw all his on-court play aside, and Whiteside is endearing fans and energizing his team off the bench. Both his toughness and enthusiasm are setting a tone for the team that I did not expect prior to the season. 

His block here is not only a display of athletic, but fuels the crowd as well.

It’s hard to ask much more from a minimum contract, backup center.

goodnight, jazz twitter pic.twitter.com/2fQvLgERXi

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 3, 2021

Just for fun, here are two random Whiteside anecdotes:

1. Whiteside is tied for the most “Kanye West Triple Doubles,” inspired by West’s lyrics “triple double no assists.” Hassan has three triple doubles that included blocks instead of assists.
2. In China, an opponent told Whiteside to greet people with “”Wǒ shì nǐ bàba” which means “I’m your daddy.” Whiteside used this greeting with everyone. Later he recognized the player in Lebanon and wished he had dunked on him.