Bizarre, Freak Injury To Cost Miami Heat Guard Remainder of Season

Nobody can recall a player being wiped out for the season because of a stats sheet, but that's what happened to Miami Heat guard Dru Smith.  

UPDATE: Dru Smith has been diagnosed with a 3rd degree right ACL sprain. He will be out for the remainder of the season.

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) November 24, 2023

Smith suffered a 3rd degree ACL sprain in his right knee after a freak accident  when he ran to close out on a shot near the sideline, and slipped on a stat sheet paper that was on the floor under the Cleveland Cavaliers bench. 

Tough, tough break for Dru Smith, who gets injured on the contest of Strus' shot after slipping on a piece of stat sheet on the floor and slides to a lower platform on the Cavs' bench. Hopefully he's okay. pic.twitter.com/7mrutBFxGN

— Naveen Ganglani (@naveenganglani) November 23, 2023

As he slipped on the sheet of paper, his foot fell down over a ledge with a drop-off under the bench. It's the only court in the league that features those drop-offs, as the Cavs raise the court slightly for better views for the fans. 

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra isn't happy about the situation.

Erik Spoelstra is not happy about the court that caused the Dru Smith injury pic.twitter.com/tiHEh3lmev

— Five Reasons Sports 🏀🏈⚾️🏒⚽️ (@5ReasonsSports) November 24, 2023

“It is a dangerous floor,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Wednesday’s win in Cleveland when discussing Smith’s injury. “I don’t know the history of injuries here. But we’ve had a couple scares in previous years when guys are closing out in that corner... it’s an accident waiting to happen. You close out and then all of a sudden you’re going off a cliff. It’s just so dangerous.”

In his second NBA season, Smith was averaging 4.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest while shooting 41.2% from the three-point range in 14.6 minutes per contest.