Wednesday night's Game 2 against the Cleveland Cavaliers featured a valiant effort from the Miami Heat, but still ultimately resulted in a loss. Now down 2-0 in the series, the Heat will head home for what could be their final two home games at Kaseya Center this season.
Miami battled hard, cutting the Cavs' lead to two points multiple times late in the fourth. But Cleveland having a player like Donovan Mitchell to close the game ended up being the difference in this one, as he hit clutch shot after clutch shot.
One thing that Heat fans certainly took note of during this contest was the performance of Haywood Highsmith. Coming off the bench and putting up 17 points while making five of his six three-point attempts, it was one of the better scoring performances of Highsmith's entire season.
Had Miami pulled out a win, Highsmith's hot shooting would have obviously been one of the key talking points behind how they did it. But even in a loss, his excellent night served to remind everyone of the Heat's genius move to re-sign Haywood last summer.
Back on July 8, 2024, it was announced that Miami would officially re-sign Highsmith to a two-year, $11 million deal with the team. He was coming off a season where he appeared in 61 games (26 starts) and averaged 6.1 points in around 20 minutes per game of action.
Highsmith's 17 points were his most in a game since November
This season, we saw him earn even more starting opportunities while playing in a similar role. And yet, it still felt like Erik Spoelstra under-utilized Highsmith at times. There's certainly going to be more opportunities for his talent to be maximized going forward.
And what makes Highsmith's bargain contract so appealing is his potential to continue becoming a bigger impact player as time goes on. He's an extremely valuable defensive contributor that can guard multiple positions effectively and fit in seamlessly just about anywhere in the Heat's scheme.
Not only does Miami routinely look stronger defensively with him on the floor, but Highsmith has grown significantly as a scorer as well. His offensive process is much improved from when he first donned a Heat jersey back in 2021.
In the Play-In as well as in this first round series with Cleveland, we have seen Haywood's high-IQ offensive approach on display. Knowing when to take the three, when to attack off the catch, and when to make a quick cut to the rim are all big strengths of his. His 39% shooting mark from beyond the arc in these last two seasons is the cherry on top.
Highsmith is simply a wonderful talent that the Heat can look forward to having both next season and ideally, in future years as well. He's a picture-perfect role player, and one that can play a part in making Miami a contender once again.