Miami Heat's Haywood Highsmith Playing His Best Basketball At The Right Time

Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith picked the perfect time to turn things up.

He is arguably playing the best basketball of his career during the past three games. The timing is ideal because the Heat are preparing for the playoffs. After Friday's win against the Portland Trail Blazers, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Highsmith is at his peak this season.

"That means a lot coming from coach Spo," Highsmith said. "This is the time of year you want to play your best basketball with the season going into the playoffs. It just shows the confidence he has in me and how much he believes in me. It's amazing. Just got to keep it going and stay consistent."

Highsmith is averaging 17.7 points on 77 percent shooting the last three games. He's also made 12 of 13 from the 3-point line.


"It's just me just locking in and zoning in," Highsmith said. "All that work I put in over the summer, throughout the season, just working on my shot, making it consistent and just being confident and letting it fly. That's really what it is for me, confidence and just keep shooting whether I'm making or missing it."

It hasn't been easy for Highsmith and reserve Thomas Bryant this season. Both have dealt with inconsistent playing time, falling out of the rotation on occasion.

"They're both playing their best basketball right now," Spoelstra said. "It is really encouraging to see. You're happy for those guys. I get to see them behind the scenes. They've put so much into this. Early on in the year, because we had our depth, they didn't know necessarily whether they were going to play every single night."