Hassan Whiteside of the Utah Jazz (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
Utah Jazz center Hassan Whiteside 2021-22 Goal #1: Improve Defensive Rating
Hassan Whiteside’s reputation as a defender has been, to say the least, complicated. Undeniably, he’s a shot blocking machine, sporting a career average of 2.3 blocks per game (including a career best 3.7 per contest in 2015-16 with the Miami Heat).
Those are gaudy numbers, however, the advanced metrics paint a more complicated picture. Whiteside has graded out as an elite defender several times in his career according to Defensive Rating, as he posted a remarkable figure of 95 during that same 2015-16 season, and has clocked in below 100 on several occasions.
Unfortunately, the last couple of seasons have not seen the big man perform as well by that metric. Last season, he posted a subpar 111 Defensive Rating, which was his apparent answer to a mediocre 107 rating the season before.
Whiteside is trending in the wrong direction on defense, and he should aim to address that for the Utah Jazz heading into the 2021-22 season.
He’ll block shots, because he’s always blocked shots. However, he has garnered a bit of a reputation for “chasing blocks”, meaning that sometimes he has a habit of seeking to erase an opponent’s field goal attempt at the expense of proper defensive positioning.
Whiteside could actually stand to learn a lot from newfound teammate Rudy Gobert in that regard. Despite his reputation as the NBA’s best rim protector, Gobert has never actually swatted away attempts with the same volume as Whiteside. His career high in blocks per game is 2.6, a whole 1.1 less than Whiteside’s high water mark. Yet, your average NBA observer would willingly recognize that Rudy Gobert is a better rim protector than Hassan Whiteside.
That’s because the Utah Jazz star is constantly in proper position, and would prefer to stifle field goal attempts and collect rebounds rather than send them flying into the stands. Whiteside has the length, mobility and timing to do the same, if he can only absorb some of Gobert’s focus.
Hassan Whiteside has posted a Defensive Rating under 100 several times in his career. He should aim to do the same in 2021-22, or at least make a substantial leap in the right direction from his 2020-21 mark.