With two preseason games left, the Miami Heat will have to make a decision soon on the regular season rotation.
Teams typically play about 10 players per game in the regular season. For the Heat, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love, Caleb Martin, Duncan Robinson, Josh Richardson and Thomas Bryant appear to be part of the nightly mix. That’s nine guys.
Who emerges at the end of the rotation remains to be seen, and there are a few players who could play their way into the rotation with a strong final week of the preseason.
One player who might not be included is rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr., who hasn’t played since the preseason opener as he deals with a groin strain. He is already ruled out for Wednesday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets at Kaseya Center.
Haywood Highsmith is already considered one of the Heat’s top defenders but, to earn regular rotation minutes, he needs to prove he can be a consistent threat from 3-point range.
The requirements for playing with Butler and Adebayo is simple: Play hard, and make your shots. Highsmtih has been working over the summer to improve his 3-point shot from his career 33.1% clip. Part of his summer included working alongside Duncan Robinson, one of his teammates who says the 3-point shot is coming along.
The early returns have been positive. Highsmith has made six of his 11 3-point attempts in the preseason (54.5%) while maintaining his effectiveness on defense (six steals and one block in three games).
Kevin Love is the likely starter at power forward, but Highsmith could earn key minutes as Love’s backup and potentially start in certain matchups that call for a more versatile defensive approach. But the flip side is that, if the 3-point shot doesn’t become reliable, he could be out of the rotation altogether.
Leave a Reply