Life for Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat is Much Easier With Hassan Whiteside in the Middle

It is common knowledge that Chris Bosh is a natural power forward.

However, Bosh was playing out of position for the past four seasons with the Miami Heat while LeBron James was on the team leading them to four straight NBA Finals appearances.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets /

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

With James gone, and Bosh getting broke off $118.7 million over the next five seasons, it truly was in the best interest of the Miami Heat organization to figure out a way to get the most out of Bosh, and more importantly, get him back to his natural position.

With that in mind, Pat Riley decided to ink 7-footer Hassan Whiteside to play the center spot in order to move Bosh to the power forward position.

The move has paid dividends for the Heat and the proof was on full display in the Miami Heat’s 96-84 NBA Showcase win over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday afternoon.

Bosh hit 9 of 20 from the field finishing 20 points and seven rebounds, being able to fully benefit from the interior presence that Hassan Whiteside provided with his 14 points, 13 rebounds and franchise record 12 blocked shots.

Whiteside broke the Miami Heat single game shot block record of nine blocks that was previously held by Alonzo Mourning.

What makes Whiteside’s triple-double so spectacular is that he did it in a mere 24 1/2 minutes of work.

Jan 25, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (21) dunks over Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson (22) and forward Pau Gasol (16) during the second half at the United Center. The Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls 96-84. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Whiteside had only played 17 games for the Miami Heat going into today’s contest, but his impact has been pretty immediate on the basketball court.

Chris Bosh is loving the contribution of Whiteside and had this to say in a yahoo.com post game article by Andrew Sligman:

”What he’s doing is, of course, more than I expected, But I kinda saw the fit (after he signed). He’s just playing at a high level right now. I just want him to stay grounded, just continue to work.”

-Chris Bosh

Hassan Whiteside, after being drafted by the Sacramento Kings in the second-round of the 2010 draft, played in the NBA developmental league as well as overseas in Lebanon and China before getting snatched up by Miami in late November.

Whiteside is living the dream now and had this to say after his monster triple-double in Chicago:

”It’s a blessing. Like I told my teammates, you won’t believe how things work out in life. Three months ago I was at the downtown Y just chilling, working on my game. I couldn’t get a team to pick up the phone.”

-Hassan Whiteside

The Heat are now 20-24 on the season which is currently good for seventh in the Eastern Conference playoff race.