Heat guard Dru Smith's circumstances couldn't differ more from Jayson Tatum's. The fellow 27-year-old went undrafted from Missouri after beginning his college career at Evansville as a 6-2 defensive guard. He began his career as a G-League player in Sioux Falls after the Heat cut him following training camp. A knee injury cost him his job there, before the Heat signed him twice the following season, only to waive him again. He finished that season in Brooklyn, earning another chance in Miami that lasted only four months. Smith tore his ACL. Eight months later, he ruptured his Achilles.
"He has a superpower of resilience, he really does," Erik Spoelstra said on Friday. "His journey and how he got here, he just would not take no for an answer. He had doors shut on him more than he had doors opened to him, and most players quit. We've cut him more times than I can count, probably seven, eight, nine times and he just kept coming back."
Yet Tatum, the Celtics franchise player who won't return from his surgery until he's 110% ready, Brad Stevens said this week, and Smith, who played in an October preseason game only nine months after his Achilles tear, took the same steps early in their recoveries. Slow, methodical ones with little return. Smith credited his recovery, speaking to reporters before Friday's game against the Celtics, to how slowly he and the Heat's training staff took the first steps following his procedure. He probably fell behind schedule, Smith remembered, because of how carefully they progressed, only to benefit on the back end with one of the quicker returns to the floor by an NBA player.
While stressing that every recovery is different, Smith's insight could prove instructive to what's ahead for Tatum, who's now seven months clear from his injury and ramping up for a potential return this season. Tatum won't receive the benefit of training camp and preseason as Smith did, and instead may jump into a playoff race. If his return aligns with Smith's, Tatum could receive clearance around mid-February, although he'll inevitably ease into activity and game action.
"I think I had my surgery on December 27, maybe, and then I was able to jump back into training camp," Smith said. "I was limited during camp a little bit, I had some minute restrictions there in preseason as well, but I think by camp I was able to feel pretty good, so maybe eight or nine months, I'm not exactly sure where that is, but somewhere around there."
Spoelstra acknowledged that the Heat needed to slow Smith down during that offseason as he boasted to anyone who would listen that he would play in camp. Smith didn't need to fight for his spot this time, as the Heat affirmed his efforts and continued potential with a three-year, $7.9 million deal in August that included a guaranteed first season. He could ease into it, but played in every preseason game, averaging 4.4 points in 12.1 minutes across five games, shooting 46.7% from the field and 42.9% from three.
Since, he's appeared in all 28 Heat games, including Friday's back-to-back at Boston, where he logged 21 minutes with Tyler Herro and Davion Mitchell injured. His ball pressure impacted the Celtics with three steals while he scored seven points on 2-for-10 shooting. This season, he's posting 6.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 2.9 APG with 1.5 SPG on 40.9% FG and 30.8% 3PT.
"You love it with guys like that, he's always pushing the envelope," Spoelstra said. "We just told him, take your take, we want to be responsible about this, but he passed every check mark during the summer and he would just keep on pushing for more and he was. He was available in training camp and I had every intention of playing him every other day in training camp and playing him in some of the games in preseason, and he ended up playing every single day in training camp, every single game in the preseason, but that's the kind of fortitude that he forces upon you."
The Celtics face a similar crossroads with Tatum, who's stressed his desire to return this season despite a year-long layoff eliminating most of the risk of an additional injury. Brad Stevens described earlier this week the
