Hassan Whiteside had a phenomenal game against the Phoenix Suns as he scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, leading the Miami Heat to a big victory. Even though he had a slow start, the 27-year old center bounced back in a big way and dominated the opponent in the second half of the game.
Whiteside's 14 rebounds were enough to get his rebounding total to 936 this season, as he broke the Record for most rebounds in a single season for the Heat.
Hassan Whiteside broke the record that stood for 25 years
Whiteside's incredible season helped him break numerous Miami Heat records, and this one is 25 years old.
The previous record was held by Rony Seikaly, who grabbed 934 rebounds in 1991/92 season. Hassan Whiteside has two rebounds more than Seikaly, and there are 11 games left in the season. Considering that he is averaging the league-best 14.2 rebounds per game this year, it is very likely that Whiteside will have over 1000 rebounds at the end of the regular season.
Whiteside's rebounding average is also the highest in the franchise history, as the second-best mark is 11.8 rebounds per game, also set by Seikaly.
His record-setting game could be costly
Even though Hassan Whiteside broke this record, his game against the Suns could be costly for the Miami Heat. Whiteside had to leave the game in the last few minutes as he cut his hand and started to bleed.
After the match, the big man received 13 stitches on his hand, and his condition is unknown.
Miami Heat have recently lost Dion Waiters, who is one of their best players this season, and they cannot afford to lose Whiteside too. They are just one game under .500 record, and their next game is against the Toronto Raptors, the team that has amazing big men.
Without Hassan Whiteside in the game, things will not look good for the Heat as they won't have enough players to defend the Raptors. As of this moment, the Heat are the eighth seed in the East, but they are just half a game away from falling out of playoff picture. They need all the help they can get, so hopefully, Whiteside will be ready to play.
