Dru Smith’s calf injury has given the Miami Heat an immediate reason to test how much offense they can run through Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
Smith will miss roughly a couple of weeks with a strained right calf. That leaves Miami evaluating its options behind Davion Mitchell, while Erik Spoelstra works out how to distribute ball-handling duties across his new roster.
The coach’s response went beyond identifying another guard. Spoelstra included Antetokounmpo and Adebayo among the players capable of getting Miami into its offense. He also mentioned Nikola Jovic, alongside the opportunities for Ryan Conwell, Tre Donaldson and Pelle Larsson.
That gives the Heat two related decisions: Who takes the available guard minutes, and who creates the offense during those minutes. Spoelstra’s options allow those responsibilities to be shared instead of placing the entire assignment on one inexperienced replacement.
Dru Smith’s injury interrupts a promising start
Smith explained that his calf gave him trouble as he began a back cut. The setback arrived after Smith had been able to spend the summer working on his game, something Spoelstra stressed Thursday.
Spoelstra described the injury as “a minor thing” and expressed confidence that Smith would recover. That assessment is more encouraging than the guard’s previous injury history might initially suggest.
“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,” Spoelstra said. “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.”
A December 2024 report from Reuters documented the torn Achilles that ended Smith’s season after he had already worked back from an ACL injury. His current calf problem has been described in much less severe terms, although the estimated absence does not establish an exact return date.
“Timing is terrible, obviously, very frustrating,” Smith said.
“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 it is what it is…” – Dru Smith on the calf injury #Heat https://t.co/1ZollmVSZp
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) October 1, 2026
There is a basketball cost even if the recovery proceeds without complications. Smith loses opportunities to establish connections with new teammates, while the players behind him get a larger share of Miami’s evaluation time.
The Heat must learn which combinations function best without treating a temporary absence as a permanent change in the rotation.
Giannis and Bam give Spoelstra another way to start possessions
Spoelstra’s explanation suggests the Heat do not view playmaking as an obligation that belongs exclusively to their point guards.
He emphasized the experience Antetokounmpo and Adebayo have directing offense and said their versatility was already part of Miami’s plans.
“That versatility will allow us to do that if we need it,” Spoelstra said. “And we will use it regardless.”
The implication is significant for the younger guards. A player sharing the court with one of those big men would not necessarily have to manufacture the first advantage on every possession.
Miami could evaluate his ability to shoot, move the ball and make the next decision while a more established creator handles the initial action.
There is already a limited example of that approach. In practice footage the Heat released Tuesday, Antetokounmpo supplied Adebayo on two scoring sequences.
It was an early look at their ability to involve each other, rather than evidence that the offense has already solved every spacing or lineup question.
The distinction matters when evaluating the replacements. A guard can fit alongside Antetokounmpo or Adebayo without having proved he can organize an entire reserve unit.
Preseason should help show where each player needs support and where he can take on more responsibility.
Tre Donaldson and Ryan Conwell offer different starting points
Donaldson brings a recent college season with substantial passing production. In 35 appearances for the University of Miami during the 2025-26 college season, he averaged 16.4 points and a team-leading 5.7 assists per game, starting 33 times.
His development as a distributor preceded that final season. He averaged 4.1 assists per game across 37 starts at Michigan in 2024-25.
The increase to 5.7 the following season gives the Heat a relevant body of work to examine as they assess his ability to direct teammates at the professional level.
That background does not guarantee an NBA role, but it helps explain why Donaldson deserves attention beyond the opportunity created by Smith’s absence.
Spoelstra praised Donaldson’s ability to organize teammates, his confidence with the ball and his defensive toughness. Donaldson is on a two-way contract.
Conwell’s college profile presents a different emphasis. During the 2025-26 season at Louisville, he averaged 18.8 points and 2.7 assists per game across 34 appearances.
He made 112 of 325 attempts from 3-point range, shooting 34.5 percent. The volume is useful context for that percentage.
Conwell attempted about 9.6 threes per game, making outside shooting a major part of his college offensive workload. He also shot 41.3 percent from beyond the arc at Xavier in 2024-25, although that earlier percentage should not replace his more recent results.
For Miami, the question is whether his shooting can complement possessions initiated by the frontcourt. Donaldson’s stronger assist production and Conwell’s perimeter scoring point toward different potential uses.
Neither college resume, by itself, settles which player can defend reliably, limit mistakes or earn Spoelstra’s trust against NBA competition.
Pelle Larsson’s experiment was already underway
Larsson adds another option without requiring the Heat to turn exclusively to rookies. Larsson had already expected to spend some time at point guard before Smith’s injury.
That makes his ball-handling work part of a broader plan rather than a response invented after the setback. The immediate test is whether he can take on more initiation while remaining effective in the other responsibilities Miami assigns him.
There is also a separate personnel development to monitor. The Heat’s reported agreement with Dennis Smith Jr. was described Sunday as a planned Exhibit 10 arrangement with a later arrival and a possible return to Sioux Falls.
It should not be treated as confirmation that he has secured the NBA backup job. For now, the most revealing part of Spoelstra’s answer is the range of players he identified.
The Heat can use this stretch to assess Donaldson’s organization, Conwell’s shooting and Larsson’s ballhandling while testing how much responsibility Antetokounmpo and Adebayo can absorb.
Smith’s recovery will determine when he rejoins that evaluation; the work Miami does in his absence can help define roles that remain useful after he returns.
