Miami Heat big man Hassan Whiteside has endured a frustrating season so far as he's missed many games due to a knee injury.

He's featured in 22 of the team's 40 games this year but he finally appears to have overcome his knee problem and is enjoying a consistent run on the floor.

But since his return to the lineup, head coach Erik Spoelstra has chosen to limit Whiteside's minutes and often doesn't use him to close out games.

It could easily be construed as his way of easing his star player back in slowly but he recently revealed that there were other reasons behind it.

Spoelstra explained that he wants to see more effort from the 28-year-old and has certain expectations he wants him to reach to earn more minutes.

“He’s still getting there,” Spoelstra said, per the Miami Herald. “It has nothing to do with the knee. It’s just a habit for him of doing more, of getting more, of being more consistent with all of it. And I won’t stop with my expectations for him and what this team needs from him."

In a narrow win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday, the Heat closed the game out with a 16-7 run that Whiteside sat and watched from the bench.

Speaking to reporters at shootaround on Tuesday, the seven-footer said he had no problems with being benched as they won the game but he stated that he definitely wants to get more time on the court.

“You always want to play,” he said. “As a player, I don’t want to come out. If you ask me, I want to play 48 minutes. So that’s a tough question. But coach sees different things.

"Maybe he sees different things on the court. Sometimes it’s tough to take those guys out, too, because you got to take somebody off the court. And them guys were playing well.”

Spoelstra went on to identify which specific areas Whiteside must improve to get more playing time.

“It’s both ends,” Spoelstra said. “He’ll get there. Some things he’s doing better. As he does it more consistently, harder and with a better motor and attention to detail, he’ll earn more minutes.”

The veteran's minutes have been in the low 20s since his return but coach Spo must've been happy with his effort on Tuesday night as he rewarded him with 30 minutes in a 90-89 win over the Toronto Raptors.

He posted 13 points, 15 rebounds, one assist and two blocks as they came away with an impressive road win against one of the top teams in the east.

Miami has improved to 23-17 and will be a serious threat in the conference if they can get their big man to recapture his dominant form.