NBA's five most overrated players

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http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/14638493/hassan-whiteside-carmelo-anthony-five-most-overrated-players-league-nba


Hassan Whiteside: The NBA's best shot-blocker

Lamar Odom once criticized JaVale McGee's basketball IQ by saying, "The game is called basketball, not run and jump."

That quote comes to mind when watching Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside.

Whiteside blocks 3.9 shots per game, and for his career he is the NBA's most prolific shot-blocker in two decades. He's also fifth in the league in rebounding, ranking in the top 10 in offensive and defensive rebounds per game.

Impressive, right? It sounds as if he should be the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, at least.

Not so fast. Here, the box score fails us.

When Whiteside sits, the Heat are better on defense. Over the past two seasons, as Whiteside has burst onto the scene in Miami, the Heat have allowed three fewer points per 100 possessions with Whiteside out of the game.

That's not all. The Heat also grab more rebounds when he sits: They get 80 percent of defensive rebounds without Whiteside versus 76 percent with him.

Why? Whiteside apparently doesn't know -- or doesn't care -- that the opposing center is the biggest threat to grab offensive boards and that the most important job of any center, after a shot goes into the air, is making sure that opponent has no clear path to the basket for a rebound.

Instead of boxing out, Whiteside appears to want the rebound for himself, according to my video review of Whiteside's play. This boosts his totals but costs his teammates rebounds. At the same time, opposing centers actually see a bump in their rebounding numbers against Whiteside, who is often ball-watching once a shot goes up.

It's a similar story with the block numbers. Whiteside seems more concerned about getting his individual block numbers up than keeping the opponent from scoring. Many times he will leave his man to "help" a teammate and rack up a potential block, even if his teammate is in good defensive position.

So what happens? If Whiteside doesn't get the blocked shot (and he usually doesn't), the now double-teamed player often finds Whiteside's man free under the basket. Or if the shot goes up, Whiteside is completely out of position to grab the rebound.

Either way, the opposing team has an easier time grabbing offensive boards and, with no rim protector in sight, has no trouble putting the ball immediately in the basket.

Whiteside's real plus-minus tells part of the story, as he is ranked 31st among centers. And in truth, his RPM is likely to be even lower in the future, as the credit received for blocks and rebounds is overwhelmed by his negative on-off numbers.

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