Heat’s Hassan Whiteside Suffers Knee Injury In Loss To Raptors

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Heat suffered a costly loss against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. Not only did Dwyane Wade and company fall to 1-2 in the second-round playoff series with the Raptors, but up-and-coming center Hassan Whiteside also suffered a knee injury in Game 3.

Whiteside went down with the knee injury in the second quarter of Game 3 on Saturday and did not return, according to Tom Haberstroh of ESPN:

Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside injured his right knee early in the second quarter Saturday and was ruled out for the rest of Game 3 against the Toronto Raptors.

After landing awkwardly on an offensive rebound, Whiteside limped off the floor and immediately underwent X-rays, which came back negative. Whiteside will undergo an MRI Sunday to determine if there is ligament damage.

Whiteside has played a significant role for the Heat this season, and if he’s unable to continue playing in this series, Miami will suffer a huge loss on the defensive side of the floor. The 26-year-old center is without a doubt the team’s best player and arguably the best rim protector in the league today.

Along with potentially missing time in their series and hurting the Heat’s chances of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, Whiteside will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The center’s knee injury could become an issue if it’s worse than anticipated.

In Game 4, the Heat will attempt to bounce after losing on their home floor. Although it seemed as though Miami was the better team in this series before Game 3, everything has changed with the Raptors right back in the mix to advance if able to keep the pressure on in Game 4.