Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith spoke candidly about not just his performance in the team's win over the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday night, but about the car accident that he endured on Feb. 6. As he was coming home from the win over the Orlando Magic later that night, he crashed into a stationary vehicle that had its lights off that individuals were moving off the street according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
There was no drugs or alcohol involved and while Highsmith wasn't badly injured, the person that was helping move the car was seriously hurt. Dealing with a traumatic event like that, it would be hard to come back to any line of work shortly after. Highsmith did just that as he reflects on this hectic time for him, saying that “basketball is my peace” according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel.
“Basketball is my peace,” Highsmith said after the 76ers win. “I wanted to get back with my teammates and my coaches, to be around them, so they can get my energy up. Obviously, it hasn’t been the easiest week or so for me, but I’m just taking it day by day, and being around my team has been very helpful. Being around my family, the coaching staff, everybody, has been very helpful. So the Heat culture, Heat family had my back, so I appreciate that.”
Highsmith talks about his performance against Philadelphia
In the win, Highsmith had his second highest scoring game of the season with 16 points to go along with two steals, two rebounds, while making five of his 13 attempts. He usually does not get many shot attempts, especially from deep, but they kept leaving him open as he made four of his 10 shots from three-point range.
“That’s how it is,” Highsmith said. “People keep leaving me open, I’m going to keep shooting it. So if that’s how a team is going to play, so be it. I’m going to keep shooting ’em, no matter if I’m making them or missing.”
“I’m just taking it day by day,” Highsmith continued. “It’s not going to be easy, obviously, but just take it day by day.”
Erik Spoelstra speaks about Highsmith's strengths that help the Heat
While Highsmith has always improved on his offense, he really made a staple in the Heat's rotation because of his staunch defense. Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra praised the 27-year old's defense against the 76ers, even saying it has been a stretch of three contests where that aspect stood out to him.
“He was really good defensively,” Spoelstra said. “And he’s put together three straight games defensively where he’s had a massive impact on the game. Whether it was man or zone, his discipline, his wingspan, his ability to move his feet, I think was allowing us to crowd the ball a little bit easier, so it wasn’t necessarily the straight-line drives.:
“And then he hit a big three in the fourth quarter, and I loved the fact he stayed with it,” Spoelstra commenting on Highsmith's confidence on offense. “He missed some open ones and didn’t get discouraged by that and when we really needed him to knock down one based on how they were guarding him, he hit a big one.”
There is no doubt that it has been a rough time for Highsmith since the car accident last week, but it seems as if basketball is helping him recover mentally. Miami is 30-25 heading into the All-Star break which puts them seventh in the Eastern Conference as their next game after will be on Friday, Feb. 23 when they will face the New Orleans Pelicans.
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