Hassan Whiteside is back and the Jazz are reaping the benefits

After being benched in Sacramento last season, Whiteside is has retained his spot as one of the leagues best shot-blockers and rebounders, even in limited minutes.

Advanced statistics used are from ESPN.com and StatMuse.com.

Just over a year and a half ago, Hassan Whiteside explained to the media his frustration with Kings coach at the time Luke Walton, in what turned into a spiral of differences and arguments between the two regarding Whiteside’s work ethic and how he would fit with the team. This resulted in Whiteside getting benched the whole 2020-2021 NBA season in favor of Richaun Holmes, Dwyane Dedmon (at the time), and Marvin Bagley III.

None of those guys could protect the rim like Whiteside, yet all of them were being played over him, resulting in a league-worst defense for the Kings last season. After having one of the most efficient seasons in his career for the Portland Trailblazers in 2019-2020 where he averaged 15 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game for a team that made the playoffs and took a game from the eventual champion Lakers, the Kings made what seemed to be a big splash in free agency by signing Whiteside the following offseason, just to not use him the whole season and for his talents to be wasted.

Coming off of a wasted season, the Utah Jazz were looking for a prominent backup center that could also provide insurance on Rudy Gobert just in case he would get hurt (which he did and missed 9 games from January 23rd to February 14th). Whiteside started off the year slow averaging less than 20 minutes per game even though he was efficient in the minutes he played, but during Rudy Gobert’s absence and over the past 10 games, Whiteside has averaged 27.5 minutes, 11.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game reminding everyone in the NBA that he is still one of the best interior defenders in the league.

Even when Rudy Gobert returned last night against the Rockets, Whiteside still recorded 11 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks in just 18 minutes. Whiteside has shown, that even in limited minutes, he makes his presence known and it helps the Jazz immensely, especially defensively. As Whiteside held down the center position in Gobert’s absence, he is now the clear backup over Udoka Azubuike and provides elite interior defense even when Gobert is on the bench.

Although people may still question Whiteside’s work ethic, no one can deny his impact in helping keep this Jazz team afloat even with all of the injuries they have sustained this season. If Whiteside continues to be the player he has been for most of his career, which is a dominant interior defender, then there is no telling how elite this Jazz team can become, espeically in the playoffs as they will match up well against anyone with two elite rim protectors that no one wants to drive on.