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Highsmith a locksmith as Heat grind defensively on opponents; Caleb Martin cleared to return

ira winderman, south florida sun-sentinel
·3 min read

MIAMI — The constant with Erik Spoelstra teams is that the defense gets better over the course of the season. On that, there is no compromise from the Miami Heat coach.

That already has been the case even at this early stage, with the Heat entering Thursday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets at Kaseya Center up to ninth in the NBA in defensive rating, including sixth in the league during the six-game winning streak they carry into Thursday night.

“It’s our identity; it’s our commitment,” Spoelstra said. “It takes a great deal of effort every single night and I’m seeing more multiple efforts, more commitment to do tough things, which is required to have a very good defense.

“It’s never easy with the way teams are playing, with the pace and the space and the talent. But we’re showing more resolve to do those tough things.”

The increased defensive bent has coincided with the insertion of Haywood Highsmith into the starting lineup, giving Spoelstra lockdown defenders Highsmith, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler in the first unit.

I think we’re just more connected, more locked in, more dialed in,” Highsmith said of the defensive play since the Heat’s 1-4 start, “and we’re just doing the little things to help impact winning and get the win.

If our offense is not flowing, we know we can get stops and rely on our defense and we can get out and run in transition and get easy buckets. So just doing a little bit of everything.”

Highsmith said he has taken the defensive mandate personally.

“Being myself, being the defender I know I can be,” he said. “I told people before that I have aspirations of being All-Defensive team and stuff like that. So just doing what I said I was going to do. I just got to keep going.

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“This league is not easy as far as defense. I just got to keep going, keep being who I am. It’s not easy to be a guy who defends top guys night in and night out, so I just gotta keep going.”

Martin cleared

After a rigorous workout at Tuesday’s shootaround in Charlotte ahead of the victory over the Hornets, forward Caleb Martin is listed as available for Thursday’s game against the Nets. Martin has missed the past 10 games with knee pain that dates to the offseason.

Listed as out for the Heat against Brooklyn are Tyler Herro (ankle), R.J. Hampton (knee) and Jamal Cain (G League).

Out for the Nets are Armoni Brooks, Noah Clowney, Keon Johnson, Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas, Dariq Whitehead, Jalen Wilson.

Cain’s moment

Sent to the G League to get playing time as part of his two-way contract, Cain maximized that opportunity Tuesday night, closing with 38 points and 10 rebounds in a 129-116 victory for the Sioux Falls Skyforce against the Cleveland Cavaliers’ affiliate.

Cain, limited to 30 total minutes in three appearances with the Heat this season, played 42:30 in Tuesday’s Skyforce victory, closing 13 of 22 from the field, including 3 of 5 on 3-pointers.

Cain currently is the lone player of the Heat’s three on two-way contracts playing in the G League. Forward Cole Swider is with the Heat, while Hampton, who had been scheduled for G League assignment, is dealing with his knee injury.

In the Skyforce’s Tuesday victory, Sioux Falls also got 26 points from Heat camp prospect Justin Champagnie, who is free to sign with any NBA team.

Holiday help

The Heat on Wednesday held their 32nd-annual Thanksgiving Celebration, distributing holiday meals to 600 pre-selected families at the Miami Rescue Mission.

On hand were Heat players, coaches, Heat president Pat Riley and others from the team’s staff.

Meals also were provided for 450 at the rescue mission.

Additional beneficiaries of the event included Feeding South Florida, Curley’s House of Style Hope Relief Food Bank, SafeSpace, Salvation Army, Amigos for Kids, The Migrant Education Program at Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Volunteers of America.