the 16 players who play fewer than 20 minutes but manage at least 4.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks, Andersen’s win shares per 48 minutes (.130) rank ninth. Whiteside’s (.151) is sixth. As for nERD, our in-house metric to measure efficiency, Whiteside trails Andersen but lacks the benefit of Andersen’s cumulative minutes.

In 430 minutes this year, Andersen has racked up a nERD of 1.3, which means he adds an estimated 1.3 winds to his team as a starter. Whiteside’s is 0.8 but per minute -- has just 158 this year -- it’s markedly better per-minute. Still, anything on the right side of zero is a good thing, so Andersen is still helping the Heat.

So with similar amount of playing time, Whiteside is out-performing Chris Andersen. Does he deserve to start over him and have a big tandem of Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside? The answer, to me anyways, is yes.

The per-36 stats (which determines a player’s statistics for every 36 minutes of playing) shows that it would be beneficial as well. Extrapolated over 36 minutes, Whiteside would have 14.4 points, 13.4 rebounds, and a whopping 4.8 blocks per game. Comparing that to the Heat’s other options only confirms that Whiteside is the best available. Chris Andersen’s per-36 numbers are 9.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks. Similar to Andersen is Udonis Haslem , whose numbers are 9.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks.

Whiteside and the Rest of the NBA

The stats show that Whiteside is a better option than his counterparts on the Heat, but how does he compare to the big stars of the NBA?

Quite well, actually. Looking at all players’ per 36 stats, Whiteside's 13.4 rebounds rank him tied for seventh with Demarcus Cousins and higher than players such as Dwight Howard (12.8), Zach Randolph (13.0), Tim Duncan (11.9), and Pau Gasol (11.6).

His 4.8 blocks are easily the most in the league, ahead of Rudy Gobert, who averages 3.8 per 36. To put Whiteside’s numbers in perspective, his 4.8 average is at least 2.0 higher than well-known shot-blockers Serge Ibaka (2.6) and Roy Hibbert (2.7). That being said, even if Whiteside can’t continue his current form of blocking shots, he would still rank towards the top even with a dip in numbers.

Going Forward

The Miami Heat are clinging onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and have gone 6-14 since the start of December. The difference between Whiteside, Andersen, Haslem is significant enough for the Heat to consider giving Whiteside a bigger role. His play could give the Heat the lift they need to keep a hold on the eighth seed.