Haberstroh: Whiteside's Injury Could Derail Heat's Playoff Hopes
With Hassan Whiteside going down with an ankle injury last night, the Heat could be in some serious trouble. ESPN's Tom Haberstroh told WQAM on Wednesday he thinks the Heat could be in danger of missing the playoffs if the big man is going to be out for a while.
"It's a huge deal for the Miami Heat because when you look at the playoff race and look at how badly they play without Whiteside they're in danger of losing a playoff spot if this is a two week, three week, month long thing that is going to be aggravating him for the rest of the season," Haberstroh said on the Kup and Crowder Show. "I don't want to be doomsday about this but the Heat are minus-seven every 48 minutes -- basically the Los Angeles Lakers -- when Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade play without Whiteside.
"So when those two stars are on the floor they're still not playing like a playoff-caliber team. So without Whiteside this could go south real fast."
Not only will the Heat be without Whiteside tonight against the Hornets but Luol Deng also didn't make the trip due to illness. Josh McRoberts is already shelved for the season and both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have dealt with injuries of their own. Can the Heat overcome the slew of injuries threatening to crush the team's playoff hopes?
Listen to all WQAM interviews here.