Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was not a fan of the court design in Cleveland even before his point guard, Dru Smith, was injured on an out-of-bounds play on Wednesday night in a win over the Cavaliers. But now that an MRI has confirmed that Smith will be out for the year because of a Grade 3 ACL tear suffered on the play, Spoelstra is even more upset.
The Miami Heat have, according to a report in The Athletic, contacted the NBA about the 10-inch drop that surrounds the court at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, keeping it raised above the rubber that covers the ice below. Spoelstra acknowledged that there’s not much that is expected to happen with it, except that maybe a change can be made in the future.
“It is a dangerous floor,” Spoelstra said. “I don’t know the history of injuries here. But we’ve had a couple of scares in previous years when guys are closing out in that corner. Thankfully, nobody has been injured before. But it’s an accident waiting to happen.
“It’s just so dangerous. As soon as he [Smith] stayed down, we all knew that that’s probably what happened and that’s what was the case. And we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Erik Spoelstra Led Team to 10-7 Despite Road-Heavy Schedule
The loss of Smith happened to coincide with the wrapping up of the Miami Heat’s devastating early-season grind of road games, which featured just five home games in the first 17 contests.
It was an especially solid coaching performance from Erik Spoelstra. Considering that, as well as the injuries the team has had to endure—Smith is out for the year, Tyler Herro has been out since November 8, Caleb Martin has missed 10 games, Duncan Robinson has a thumb injury—the fact that the Heat are sitting at 10-7 is a minor miracle.
The hope is that Herro, who has been out of his walking boot for a week, will be able to return soon, perhaps when the Heat get back into a home-happy portion of their schedule on Tuesday against the Bucks.
According to Miami-based 5 Reasons Sports on Twitter/X, “Erik Spoelstra characterized the Duncan Robinson absence as ‘short term.’ Also said that RJ Hampton and Tyler Herro were both ‘making progress in Miami.’”
Erik Spoelstra characterized the Duncan Robinson absence as “short term.”
Also said that RJ Hampton and Tyler Herro were both “making progress in Miami.”
Others Agree With Miami Heat About Cleveland Court
As for the court in Cleveland, others around the league concede that it is a problem. No other arenas in the NBA have such a starkly raised floor, and it is probably just good fortune that no one has been injured until the Dru Smith tumble. So it is now left to the Miami Heat to make the official complaint.
“Just coming in and out of the huddles (during timeouts) is tricky for me,” Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham said, according to The Athletic. “I’ve got big feet, so hopefully I don’t faceplant. … It’s something that definitely needs to be looked at.”
According to Erik Spoelstra, most teams don’t complain about the floor because they’ve been able to avoid major injuries. But he called Smith’s injury “heartbreaking” because it could have been avoided.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Spoelstra said. “You really feel for Dru. You feel heartbroken that it was that kind of injury that could have been avoided. I don’t know. Maybe this is something that can be addressed with the league, moving forward. I doubt anything will change with that, with the floor. It is a hazard in our mind, and probably in a lot of other teams’ minds.”
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Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat File NBA Complaint After ‘Heartbreaking’ Injury