Coach Erik Spoelstra said he expects Whiteside (knee) to play and start Tuesday's game against Orlando, Anthony Chiang of the Palm Beach Post reports.

EDGE Analysis

The Heat are still waiting until Whiteside goes through pregame warmups to make a final call on his status, but at this point all signs point to the big man returning to the starting five for the first time since late-November. Spoelstra has not clarified whether or not Whiteside will face any sort of limitation, but it seems likely his minutes will be monitored after the lengthy layoff.