[Saba Sports News] During a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat guard Dru Smith experienced a stroke of extremely bad luck. In the second quarter, while trying to defend a three-pointer from Max Strus, Smith’s jump led him into the Cavs’ bench area where he unfortunately slipped on either a whiteboard or a piece of paper left under a chair by a Cavs assistant.
This caused his leg to hit a lower part of the floor, resulting in an awkward twist of his right knee. The Heat later revealed that Smith sustained a third-degree ACL sprain from this incident, ending his season.
This is particularly disheartening for the 25-year-old undrafted Smith, who was steadily climbing the ranks in Miami. Despite averaging only 4.3 points and 1.6 assists per game this season, he had begun to receive more playing time due to Tyler Herro’s ankle injury.
The incident seems to be a freak accident, as the object Smith slipped on was well out of play, and while such injuries are not uncommon in the NBA, the severity and unfortunate nature of Smith’s injury make it particularly distressing.