NBA Playoffs: Hassan Whiteside won’t play for Heat in Game 5

The Miami Heat confirmed that star center Hassan Whiteside won’t travel with the team for Game Five of their series with the Toronto Raptors.

After going down with what turned out to be a sprained MCL Saturday, Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside was thought to be out of action for Game Four at the very least, if not longer. As it turns out, the team will be without Whiteside for at least another game in their series with the Toronto Raptors.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed that the big man would stay in South Florida in hopes of rehabbing the injury:

Whiteside injured his knee when he fell awkwardly during a play in the second quarter of Game Three between the Heat and Raptors, a game Toronto would win in the only contests in this series to not go into overtime. Without Whiteside, the Heat were able to even the series with a win in Game Four on Monday.

The Heat is holding out slight hope that Hassan Whiteside would be able to return for a Game Six showdown between the teams, which will be played on Friday in Miami. If the Heat win Game Five tomorrow night, many experts think they will continue to sit him in hopes of having Whiteside healthy for a Eastern Conference Finals series.

In the postseason, Whiteside was averaging a double double, with 12 points and just under 11 rebounds in the 10 games he played in (including an average of three blocks a game). In his absence, the Heat turned to the trio of Udonis Haslem, Josh McRobets and Amar’e Stoudamire for Game Four, who combined for eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in the win.

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