It was Jeremy Lin a few years ago, it was Kawhi Leonard last season, and this year, the breakout player to watch may very well be Hassan Whiteside of the Miami Heat. 

Whiteside, who played overseas the past two years, has come over and been the anchor for a Miami team in search of its identity. The loss of LeBron James in the off-season, as well as injuries to Luol Deng and Dwyane Wade, has left this team in search of a spark, which Whiteside has provided. He posted an unconventional triple-double against the Chicago Bulls with 14 points, 13 boards, and 12 blocked shots last week. In his past four games, he has been averaging roughly 17 points and 15 rebounds, as well as 30 minutes. It would not be surprising to see that workload increase as Whiteside, aside from Chris Andersen, is the only true rim protector the Heat have on their roster. 

He will be matched up against another promising young center in Andre Drummond, who has a bit more work under his belt thus far. Drummond has been somewhat up and down this year, but, overall, he has continued to anchor the Detroit Pistons defensively and crash the offensive glass. He is averaging right around 12 and 13 this season in addition to 4.9 offensive rebounds per contest, good for best in the NBA. The Pistons lead the NBA in offensive rebounds per game at 13, so Whiteside will have a tall task to keep Drummond and the rest of his teammates off the boards.

The Heat is hoping to have forward Deng back in the lineup Tuesday night, as he was questionable for Miami's last game against the Boston Celtics. He missed his third straight with a strained calf but hopes to return against the Pistons. Meanwhile, Wade, who had been averaging right around 21 points and five assists this season, suffered a strained hamstring on Tuesday. If both players are out once again, the Heat will continue to lean on Whiteside as well as veteran Chris Bosh, who scored 18 in the Heat's 83-75 win over Boston. Tyler Johnson dropped 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench as Miami notched their 21st win of the year. 

The Pistons are also coming off of a victory, taking down the Houston Rockets, 114-101, in their last game. The Pistons met their former teammate, Josh Smith, with stingy defense and hot shooting as they scored over 110 points for just the fourth time this season. The starting backcourt of D.J. Augustin and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each scored 28 points, while Anthony Tolliver dropped 12 points off the pine.

Head coach Stan Van Gundy compressed his lineup into an eight-man rotation as veterans Joel Anthony and Caron Butler, as well as stretch-four Jonas Jerebko, did not see any play time. The starters took care of business; however, as Greg Monroe went for 19 points and 12 boards, and Drummond had 11 and 16 to go with three blocks.

It will be interesting to see if Drummond can stay out of foul trouble against Whiteside and the Heat, as the Pistons will need him to protect the rim in this game. 

Jodie Meeks, effectively the team's sixth man this season, has been struggling of late. He has been shooting just 28 percent from the field in his past five games as well as 15 percent from beyond the arc. Detroit will need him to provide an offensive spark off the bench with Jennings out for the remainder of the season. 

The game will tip-off at 7:30 P.M. EST from the Palace of Auburn Hills.