Heat guard Dru Smith available for season opener after calf strain
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The gist
Miami Heat guard Dru Smith was cleared to play Wednesday's opener versus Minnesota after a right calf strain.
He backs up Davion Mitchell after missing all of preseason.
Background
Dru Smith is a fourth-year guard (No. 12) for the Miami Heat. He strained his right calf at the start of training camp, which kept him out of every preseason game and put his availability for the regular-season opener in doubt. Smith said the injury happened while he was making a back cut, and called the initial news relatively encouraging compared with more serious setbacks he had dealt with before. The calf issue was one of several roster problems Miami managed, alongside Bam Adebayo's groin issue and Pelle Larsson's illness.
How it unfolded
- Oct 17, 2026Smith was ruled out for Friday's preseason game against the Magic with a strained right calf and ended up missing the entire preseason.
- Oct 18, 2026Smith practiced Sunday; the team said every player did some work, though the extent of his work was unclear.
- Oct 20, 2026Smith practiced Monday after also practicing Sunday, per the Miami Herald's Anthony Chiang; clarity on his opener status was expected once the team released an injury report Tuesday evening.
- Oct 21, 2026Smith was available for Wednesday's season opener versus Minnesota after making good progress, set to be the No. 2 point guard off the bench behind Davion Mitchell.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Smith described the calf injury as relatively encouraging compared with the more serious setbacks he had experienced, even though it came at a frustrating point in his preparation.
Still unverified
The extent of Smith's work in Sunday's practice was unclear, and Sunday's reporting offered no individual workload details for Smith or Larsson.