Well, Friday night’s matchup between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers may not have had much jam to it going in, but things may have just escalated a little bit in the battle of centers. Hassan Whiteside of the Miami Heat made it clear how he thinks he compares to DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers.
He has since tried to temper his original take, but here’s how it went, according to ESPN:
“No,” Whiteside told the Miami Herald on Thursday when asked about Jordan and whether their games are similar. “He catches lobs. I shoot jumpers, catch lobs, block shots. I do a lot. He just catches lobs.”
In a text message sent Friday to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, Whiteside attempted to clarify his position, saying that his comments to the Herald “were misinterpreted” and that Jordan is “one of top centers in NBA” and “a really good player.”
Whiteside may indeed be a bit more versatile, and is certainly having a nice season, outpacing Jordan in points (17.6 ppg vs. 11.7 ppg), rebounds (14.7 vs. 12.6), and blocks per game (2.3 vs. 1.8). But at the same time, it’s difficult to compare players asked to do very different things. And, as Whiteside noticed, with very different supporting casts:
“[Jordan’s] got CP3 as a point guard — a great North Carolina point guard, I’d like to add,” said Whiteside.
Whiteside’s immediate retraction would seemingly demonstrate his realization that giving the Clippers bulletin board material is never a good idea. Let’s just hope that Jordan tries to throw one down on Whiteside at least once tonight.
[ESPN]
