The Miami Heat need a win against the Toronto Raptors on Friday to save their season. Unfortunately for Miami, it will need to win without starting center Hassan Whiteside, who will again be out with a sprained MCL:
No surprise given what Spo said earlier, but Heat game notes for tomorrow list Hassan Whiteside as OUT.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) May 12, 2016
Whiteside suffered the injury in a Game 3 loss to the Raptors. He’s been sidelined since, opting to remain in Miami for treatment when his team traveled to Canada for Game 5 on Wednesday, a game the team would lose to fall down 3-2 in the series.
This is a major blow for the Heat, who now have to fend off elimination Friday without the All-Star caliber big man. Whiteside averaged 12.0 points and 10.9 rebounds while shooting an NBA-best 68 percent from the field in Miami’s first 10 playoff games.
That came on the heels of him putting up a 14.2/11.8 slash while tallying an average of 3.7 blocks per game during the regular season.