Boca Raton, FL – With the Miami Heat in the midst of training camp with high expectations as Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the team to new heights, the team has suffered an injury that puts a dent in the depth at point guard. As the Heat continued training camp at Florida Atlantic University on Thursday, it was announced that Dru Smith suffered a calf injury in the practice session.

Specifically, Smith is dealing with a right calf strain that will keep him out for the next couple of weeks, though when speaking to ClutchPoints on Thursday, the result ended up being “pretty good news.”

“Honestly, I went on a back cut. I just took a really big negative step. Never good to be in that position. So yeah, my calf just tweaked a little bit. Luckily, we got pretty good news. I would say just kind of have to go with what your body's telling you, but it shouldn't be nothing too crazy,” Smith said.

Dru Smith has a frustrating injury history with the Heat

The 28-year-old point guard has dealt with far worse injuries before, most notably a third-degree right ACL sprain on Nov. 22, 2023, when he slipped off a raised floor near the bench against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Fast forward to Dec. 23, 2024, Smith sustained a torn left Achilles after playing 14 games upon returning from the prior issue.

Smith would record a healthy year in the 2025-26 season, playing in 70 games, averaging 5.6 points, 2.6 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 16.3 minutes per game, while shooting 41.5 percent from the field. Looking for a bigger role behind starting point guard Davion Mitchell this season, he is now dealing with a setback, but while the “timing is terrible,” Smith has dealt with news more dire.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously I've gotten a lot worse news over the years, so a couple weeks, something like that, it's not the worst thing. Timing is terrible, obviously, very frustrating, but you know it is what it is,” Smith said to ClutchPoints.

The guard would say on Monday's team media day that it was the first time in a while that it was an injury-free summer for himself.

Heat's Dru Smith has been impressed with the rookie guards

When it comes to players on the Heat that round out the point guard depth, it isn't too plentiful. Aside from Mitchell and Smith, the other options could be Pelle Larsson, though he's played in other roles besides point guard, rookie Ryan Conwell, and undrafted free agent out of the University of Miami Tre Donaldson, who's on a two-way contract.

While that could be a cause of concern, Smith has been impressed with Conwell and Donaldson so far in training camp.

“I think people will probably maybe be a little bit surprised; the young guys have looked really good these last few days with Tre and Ryan. I think they're doing a great job of competing at a high level and also continuing to learn all at the same time, so I think they're doing a really good job,” Smith said.

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Heat's Erik Spoelstra downplays concern to point guard depth

While Smith's injury takes a hit to the depth of point guard on the Heat, head coach Erik Spoelstra stresses that the calf strain is “minor,” with the regular season opener on Oct. 21 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. That puts it just under three weeks for Smith to get back and ramp up for the season, though he'll likely miss the majority, if not the whole preseason.

“This is a minor thing, so I understand because of his injury history that this would come to the forefront, but it's minor, and he'll be just fine. Also put in all the player development this summer has really helped him; he hasn't been able to do that in several years. He'll be okay,” Spoelstra said.

If anything, Spoelstra echoes Smith's sentiments on Conwell and Donaldson impressing, though he mentions other players that could initiate offense like Larsson, but also the dynamic duo leading the team in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.

“They're going after it right now, so they're in that stage right now where they're making us watch. That's Ryan, also Tre. Pelle has been doing a little bit of ball-handling as well, and our bigs are very unique: the ability to enter offense with Bam and Giannis, even Niko, but really the first two guys do it so easily and seamlessly. They've done it over the course of their careers, and their versatility allows them to do that if we need it,” Spoelstra said.

At any rate, it remains to be seen how long Smith will be out for as Miami closes out training camp on Friday ahead of the preseason opener on Saturday against the Toronto Raptors.