Heat notes: Smith, Wiggins, Anderson, Mitchell, Adebayo

Heat shooting guard Dru Smith is two months into the recovery process after having his season cut short by an injury for the second straight year, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Smith was part of Miami’s rotation when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in a December 23 game. It was difficult for him to accept after working his way back from a season-ending knee injury that took place in November 2023.

“It was very, very unfortunate,” Smith said. “It was tough for those first couple days, first week or so just trying to process it all. I felt like I was in a really good spot, things were going well. So in a sense, it felt like something was taken from me. But it really wasn’t. It was just something that I had to process and move on after that.”

Smith was seeing 19.1 minutes per night through his first 14 games, averaging 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He had played double-digit minutes in eight straight games before getting hurt, Chiang notes, and had become a useful bench weapon as an offensive contributor and a standout defender.

The Heat never stopped believing in Smith even though they’ve waived him four times since first signing him in 2021, Chiang adds. He has remained on the roster for the past two months despite the injury, although that could change with a March 4 deadline looming to add two-way players. He’s currently focused on rehab work with a goal of being fully healthy by training camp.

“I think in general, they say around six months that you should be back to basketball activities,” he said. “Around eight months, you should be doing pretty well, moving really well. I think that’s a normal timetable. I don’t think that I’m necessarily ahead or behind or anything like that. So just kind of playing it by ear.”

There’s more from Miami:

• In Friday’s win at Toronto, Andrew Wiggins showed he can take over Jimmy Butler‘s scoring load and serve as a closer in late-game situations, Chiang states in a separate story. Wiggins finished with 25 points, his highest total since being traded, with 13 of those coming in the fourth quarter and overtime. “We’re all rooting for Wiggs, man,” Tyler Herro said. “Great guy, we love having him here. We’re super happy to have him. He’s just going to continue to get more comfortable with everything we’re doing. We’re trying to feed as much life and as much confidence into him as possible. We’re really happy for him.”
• Wiggins, along with fellow newcomers Kyle Anderson and Davion Mitchell, have adjusted quickly to their new surroundings since coming to Miami at the trade deadline, Chiang notes in another piece. “I feel like they’re embracing it, they’re embracing the culture, they’re embracing the standard,” Bam Adebayo said. “They understand the majority of what we like to do and how we like to compete. I feel like they’ve embraced it. I feel like they’re up for the challenge. So it’s good to have three guys walking in trying to embrace the culture.”
• Adebayo is among the favorites now for Defensive Player of the Year honors in light of Victor Wembanyama‘s season-ending blood clot condition, Chiang adds. The Heat center finished third in the balloting last season. “That’s the media’s job, that’s not my job,” Adebayo said. “My job is to go out there and play basketball. It’s always been that thing, and you all always ask me like I can control the media’s mind. But for me, man, it’s just going out there, getting stops, playing defense and having fun. And hopefully it starts to equate to winning.”