The encore was impressive.

If there was any question about whether Hassan Whiteside would go the way of other recent NBA surprising sensations -- think current Charlotte guard Jeremy Lin -- he answered it emphatically this season.

After averaging 11.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 48 games for the Heat last season, he upped those averages to 14.2, 11.8 and 3.7, respectively, in 73 games this season.

That was largely a product of increased minutes, from 23.8 to 29.1, since Whiteside's per-36 minute averages were largely the same, dropping from 17.8 to 17.6 in points, but rising from 14.7 to 15.2 in rebounds and 3.9 to 4.6 in blocks.

So he didn't really improve that much statistically.

But he did manage to sustain strong performance with a larger workload, and with more defensive attention from opponents, which isn't always easy.

And he did progress in a number of specific areas, most notably free throw shooting, from 50 percent to 65 percent, and closer to 75 percent after the 2016 All-Star break.

So, how does he assess his season?

"I did the best that I could," Whiteside said. With the minutes I was provided, I did the best that I could. I feel like every minute I played, I played as hard as I could. And I kind of showed my talents. This is kind of what you're gonna get. I'm gonna keep improving."

He believes he still can?

"Yeah, I feel like there's improvement every day," he said. "Every day is a day to improve, you know. I can become a better shot-blocker, I can become a better rebounder. I can improve my free throws every more, and my midrange even more."

He also sounds like he wants more chances to show he can handle more.

When asked about how his body feels, after his first full NBA season, Whiteside said, ""Well, I mean, I'm fine,. Spo never played me, um...."

He seemed headed down a certain direction, then stopped himself.

Sort of.

"I don't average over 30 minutes," Whiteside said. "I know the numbers are big. But I don't average over 30 minutes."

He averaged 29.1.

It's likely he plays more in the series against Charlotte, so long as Al Jefferson doesn't get him in foul trouble -- Whiteside's foul rate dropped from 4.1 to 3.4 per 36 minutes this season.

"Jefferson is a really good big," Whiteside said. "I just got to make it tough on him... It's really gonna be a great matchup. They got really good bigs. They got a really great team. Just get to it. Let's get to it."

Whiteside averaged 9.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in four games against his hometown team.

"It's defnitely a great challenge," Whiteside said of facing the Hornets. "It definitely lined up perfectly."

And if he has time, between Games 3 and 4 in Charlotte, he can always go back to the local YMCA, where he was playing pickup not long ago, hoping for an NBA shot.

"That should be the warmup," Whiteside said, smiling.

Actually, as he'll soon learn, during his first postseason, the entire regular season was.