Florida Notes: Highsmith, Rozier, Magic, Carter

Heat small forward Haywood Highsmith is embracing his role as a utility player for Miami, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Highsmith has been elevated in the club’s hierarchy thanks in part to the free agent exit of now-Sixers wing Caleb Martin this summer. After Martin’s departure, the Heat pivoted to re-signing another incumbent free agent, Highsmith, on a two-year, $10.8MM deal.

“I can’t say enough about H,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said raved. “But the tough thing about this league is you have somebody like H, who has really played at an exceptionally high level in that role as a defender, as an impact role player that fills in all the intangibles for your team. But if he’s not scoring big numbers, nobody is really going to pay attention, nobody is going to notice, nobody is going to write articles about him.”

Playing mostly off the Heat’s bench, the 6’7″ swingman is averaging a career-high 8.6 points on .625/.417/.636 shooting splits, along with 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals a night.

There’s more out of the Sunshine State:

• Heat starting point guard Terry Rozier has struggled mightily thus far this season. Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel wonders if a transition to Miami’s bench would help him be more effective this year. The 30-year-old is averaging 13.3 points on .385/.358/.880 shooting splits, his lowest output since 20181/19.
• Even without All-Star power forward Paolo Banchero, the Magic posted a 5-0 record at a recent homestand. Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel unpacks what went right in the 8-6 club’s recent successful run, singling out frontcourt standouts Franz Wagner and Moritz Wagner, the club’s defense, and its ability to clean the glass.
• Magic head coach revealed that starting center Wendell Carter, who’s been out for the past seven games with left foot plantar fasciitis, continues to improve. “He’s doing better,” Mosley said after a recent practice, Beede reports (Twitter link). In his six healthy games this season, the 25-year-old is averaging 8.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals per bout.