If you didn’t notice that the Miami Heat lacked center depth during the season, you sure as hell noticed when Hassan Whiteside sprained his right MCL against the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Without Whiteside, and with a 33-year-old Amar’e Stoudemire hobbled, Miami was forced to play small. Guys like Josh McRoberts, Luol Deng and even rookie Justise Winslow were forced to play minutes at the 5. As a result, the Heat–at least in part–helped Raptors bigman Bismack Biyombo earn a huge pay day this past summer as the bruising center controlled the paint against the Heat with little opposition.