There was no discernible reaction from the crowd Saturday night at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan when Miami Heat guard Dru Smith entered with 5:21 left in the first quarter of what would turn into a 126-118 preseason loss to the Orlando Magic.
But for Smith it in many ways was a transcendent moment, having worked his way back onto the floor and back into competition from the Achilles tear suffered in a December victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
“Just excited to have that chance to be back out there,” Smith said of a return that came earlier than anticipated, one that has him very much in the mix for a rotation role when the Heat begin playing for real, in their Oct. 22 season opener against the Magic at Kia Center. “Whenever you go down with something like that, you never know what it’s going to look like coming back in. So definitely excited to be back out there.”
Ahead of training camp, and then during the four days of work last week at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had cautioned against expectations with Smith. In that regard, appreciate that when Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton tore Achilles during last season’s playoffs, the expectation was to be sidelined a calendar year.
But there was Smith on Saturday night, back to his aggressive self in his 10:18 of action, the Heat outscoring the Magic by a team-best 11 when he was on the court, again playing as Spoelstra’s definition of winning basketball with his seven points on 3-of-5 shooting.
Afterward, as he spoke in the locker room with Heat broadcaster Jason Jackson, Smith paused for thanks and appreciation.
“First, my faith in God, I think that’s helped me a lot,” he said reflectively. “That’s helped me get through a lot of these things with some positively. My family, my wife, specifically, she’s with me every day, through all the hard days a lot of people don’t see during the rehab. She keeps me going. Those things together got me back here.”
And so for the second consecutive season, a comeback season for Smith, who a year ago made it back from a torn ACL suffered in November 2023.
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Ahead of camp, the Heat showed faith of their own, with a three-year minimum-scale deal for Smith amid the unknowns of his health, albeit only with the first season guaranteed.
Then, during camp, Spoelstra offered a hint to just how ahead of the curve Smith actually stood.
“What he has is a superpower,” Spoelstra said of Smith’s resilience. “I wish you could take some of that and just apply it to other players.
“When I say superpower or superpowers, it’s a level of grit, it’s a level of fortitude, perseverance. However you want to describe it, he has no quit in him.”
Spoelstra did not let on during camp how close Smith was to Saturday’s full-on engagement against the Magic, an effort that also included a steal and a pair of blocked shots, reminders of his defensive doggedness.
“He’s just absolutely relentless with his approach every day,” said Spoelstra four days ahead of Smith’s Saturday return. “He does not get discouraged. I’m sure he does, but he just never shows anybody. But that’s an attitude, that’s a mindset. That’s allowed him to fast track the process.
“We want to be mindful of that. I don’t want to fast track it, in terms of where he is right now. I want to keep making sure that he’s progressing these next few weeks.”
The goal now is the same as before that shredded knee and ruptured Achilles. The difference now is there also is a long view from management, with only the second standard contract of a career otherwise built on two-way deals and 10-day trials.
“I think it kind of showed me that they believe in me, just that I can have an impact on the game whenever I am healthy,” Smith, 27, said ahead of camp. “So for me, it’s really just trying to make sure that I can make it through an 82-game season, make it through the playoffs, things like that. Because I think that if I’m able to do that, then I’ll be able to have an impact.”
Back at it
The Heat next move on to their preseason home opener Monday at 7:30 p.m. against the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center.
Among the concerns in the wake of Saturday’s loss is getting a handle on a problem that has been ongoing in recent seasons, with the Magic on Saturday night outrebounding the Heat 57-40, and outscoring them by a staggering 42-13 on second-chance points.
“Overall we want to have more physicality, more toughness, and certainly on the glass,” Spoelstra said. “We’ll get to work on that and shore that up.”
The Heat went to a less bulky lineup against the Magic, starting Nikola Jovic and Bam Adebayo in the power rotation and playing Kel’el Ware off the bench.
“We’ll be able to do it,” Jovic said of the Heat holding their own on the glass with the smaller starting lineup. “I’m not worried about that.”
