Move No. 2: Erik Spoelstra leans on Haywood Highsmith
Through the first four games in the Eastern Conference Finals, Haywood Highsmith played a combined seven minutes for the Miami Heat. All of those occurred in garbage time in Games 3 and 4. However, with Gabe Vincent out in Game 5, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t have many other options than to turn to Highsmith.
Even though the Heat would end up losing Game 5 by 13 points, and it probably didn’t feel that close all throughout the night, Highsmith was one of the team’s lone bright spots. Highsmith finished with 15 points, two rebounds, and two steals on 3-4 from 3-point range. He also finished as a plus-2 on the night.
With Cody Zeller and Kevin Love all but unplayable at this point in the series, he could look to Highsmith to absorb some of the power forward minutes. He may not be the big presence that you would expect in the frontcourt, but he’s one of the team’s most talented and versatile defenders on the roster.
If he can absorb maybe 7-10 minutes, and not be a net negative for the team when he’s on the floor, it could make a huge difference for the team. Even if he doesn’t play in the place of one of the backup bigs, Highsmight could give Jimmy Butler a breather here and there, in spurts.
Heading into Game 7, the Heat is going to need all hands on deck. And if the Heat are somehow able to pull off an unlikely win on the road, it wouldn’t be surprising if Highsmith played a small part in that.