LeBron James Beefing With Hassan Whiteside?

With the Miami Heat taking their talents to Cleveland tonight for a matchup with the soaring Cavaliers, there initially appeared to be a bit of a war of words going on between Cavs superstar LeBron James and Heat center Hassan Whiteside.

It all started when Miami's dynamic seven-footer referred to James as "a good player" on Tuesday.

"LeBron's a good player," Whiteside said. "I never really played too much against him. I'm not guarding him. Somebody else is pretty much guarding him. I just meet him at the rim."

And somehow "good player" was interpreted as a major slight to King James.

Whiteside leads the league in blocks per 48 minutes (6.14) and ranks fourth in rim protection (Min 4 Opp FGA), with opponents converting just 41.7 percent of their attempts against Miami's big man. At shootaround this morning, LeBron quietly slung one back at Miami's rising star.

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Meanwhile, Whiteside appears irked over his quotes turning into something. It certainly seems it wasn't his intention to push the buttons of the world's greatest player.

Tonight's game will be Miami's last before the All-Star break. They currently rank seventh in the East.

After losing six games in a row at the beginning of January, Cleveland has won 13 of their last 14, catapulting them to fifth.

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• Cleveland Cavaliers
• Miami Heat