Just a few games after his return to the court, Dru Smith’s season is over.
Smith suffered a torn left Achilles tendon in Monday’s win over the Brooklyn Nets, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Smith was dribbling down the court in the second quarter of a 110-95 victory over the Nets at the Kesaya Center when he suddenly lost the ball and fell to the court untouched. He was clearly in a lot of pain and was eventually helped off the court and into the locker room.
Smith averaged 6.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14 games this season. The 26-year-old, who went undrafted out of Missouri in 2022, tore his right ACL just nine games into last season after breaking into the Heat’s rotation. You have a two-way agreement with the organization.
“Obviously the air came out of the building,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. via Zachary Weinberger of Clutch Points. “Seeing him go down like that, it wasn’t a contact injury… We’re all screwed for a while. You don’t want anyone to get hurt, but we all have an incredibly deep respect for his journey, for what he had to overcome. I’ve been in the building all those times over the last year when there was no one else here and he was doing all the extensive treatment and rehab, 24 hours a day, he just has incredible strength. You end up absolutely rooting for guys like Dru.”
Despite losing Smith, the Heat pulled ahead in the second half on Monday night to claim a 15-point victory over the Nets. That victory, fueled by 23 points from Bam Adebayo, snapped a three-game losing streak. They are now 14-13 on the season and will face the Orlando Magic on Thursday.