Miami Heat Will Be Without Haywood Highsmith For Season Opener

Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith will be sidelined for their regular season opener against the Detroit Pistons

Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith shined in their preseason loss to the Brooklyn Nets, but it wasn’t all good news.

After Highsmith sustained a knee contusion, multiple outlets reported an MRI on his knee revealed a left MCL sprain. He will be evaluated in two weeks. Josh Richardson (foot) and Jaime Jaquez (groin) are also questionable Wednesday's opener against the Detroit Pistons.

Highsmith enters this season with promising expectations. A former two-way contract player, he is expected to have a key role in the rotation. He built momentum after a strong performance during last year's NBA Finals. 

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has shown confidence in Highsmith.

"It's been these incremental jumps of improvement and it's not linear," Spoelstra said. "You have great days, some days that are not great, days that you have to forge through. He just has great fortitude. Like a lot of guys that we've developed, you have to have that. If you don't have that, you're probably not going to make it. The talent level is always pretty similar. It's the fortitude that's the separator. He has that. He's always been consistent with his work."

The Heat are already experiencing similar symptoms to last season when they had a multitude of injuries to key players throughout the year. The woes spilled into the postseason with Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo. 

Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra Says Haywood Highsmith's Confidence At All-Time High

Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Inside the Heat.

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