Heat center Hassan Whiteside indicated Wednesday that he would accept coming off the bench, in a nonbegrudging way, if coach Erik Spoelstra continues to start Bam Adebayo for the remainder of the season.
For the first time since signing a four-year, $98 million contract with the Heat in the summer of 2016, Whiteside came off the bench Monday, closing with four points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot in 15 minutes, with Miami outscoring the Hawks by 14 points during his time on the court. Whiteside had missed the previous three games with a hip injury.
Spoelstra — who likes the pairing of Adebayo with starting power forward Kelly Olynyk — has given no indication when or if he will reinsert Whiteside back in the starting lineup.