NBA Notebook: Dru Smith on what's next in Jayson Tatum's Achilles recovery

Heat guard Dru Smith's circumstances couldn't differ more from Jayson Tatum's. The fellow 27-year-old went undrafted from Missouri after beginning his college career at Evansville as a 6-2 defensive guard. He began his career as a G-League player in Sioux Falls after the Heat cut him following training camp. A knee injury cost him his job there, before the Heat signed him twice the following season, only to waive him again. He finished that season in Brooklyn, earning another chance in Miami that lasted only four months. Smith tore his ACL. Eight months later, he ruptured his Achilles. 

"He has a superpower of resilience, he really does," Erik Spoelstra said on Friday. "His journey and how he got here, he just would not take no for an answer. He had doors shut on him more than he had doors opened to him, and most players quit. We've cut him more times than I can count, probably seven, eight, nine times and he just kept coming back." 

Yet Tatum, the Celtics franchise player who won't return from his surgery until he's 110% ready, Brad Stevens said this week, and Smith, who played in an October preseason game only nine months after his Achilles tear, took the same steps early in their recoveries. Slow, methodical ones with little return. Smith credited his recovery, speaking to reporters before Friday's game against the Celtics, to how slowly he and the Heat's training staff took the first steps following his procedure. He probably fell behind schedule, Smith remembered, because of how carefully they progressed, only to benefit on the back end with one of the quicker returns to the floor by an NBA player. 

While stressing that every recovery is different, Smith's insight could prove instructive to what's ahead for Tatum, who's now seven months clear from his injury and ramping up for a potential return this season. Tatum won't receive the benefit of training camp and preseason as Smith did, and instead may jump into a playoff race. If his return aligns with Smith's, Tatum could receive clearance around mid-February, although he'll inevitably ease into activity and game action. 

"I think I had my surgery on December 27, maybe, and then I was able to jump back into training camp," Smith said. "I was limited during camp a little bit, I had some minute restrictions there in preseason as well, but I think by camp I was able to feel pretty good, so maybe eight or nine months, I'm not exactly sure where that is, but somewhere around there." 

Spoelstra acknowledged that the Heat needed to slow Smith down during that offseason as he boasted to anyone who would listen that he would play in camp. Smith didn't need to fight for his spot this time, as the Heat affirmed his efforts and continued potential with a three-year, $7.9 million deal in August that included a guaranteed first season. He could ease into it, but played in every preseason game, averaging 4.4 points in 12.1 minutes across five games, shooting 46.7% from the field and 42.9% from three. 

Since, he's appeared in all 28 Heat games, including Friday's back-to-back at Boston, where he logged 21 minutes with Tyler Herro and Davion Mitchell injured. His ball pressure impacted the Celtics with three steals while he scored seven points on 2-for-10 shooting. This season, he's posting 6.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 2.9 APG with 1.5 SPG on 40.9% FG and 30.8% 3PT. 

"You love it with guys like that, he's always pushing the envelope," Spoelstra said. "We just told him, take your take, we want to be responsible about this, but he passed every check mark during the summer and he would just keep on pushing for more and he was. He was available in training camp and I had every intention of playing him every other day in training camp and playing him in some of the games in preseason, and he ended up playing every single day in training camp, every single game in the preseason, but that's the kind of fortitude that he forces upon you." 

The Celtics face a similar crossroads with Tatum, who's stressed his desire to return this season despite a year-long layoff eliminating most of the risk of an additional injury. Brad Stevens described earlier this week the several thresholds remaining in his recovery, including strength milestones, scripted small group workouts and eventually five-on-five play. His physical progression and preparation for contact can happen off the floor, so despite the number of hurdles that stand in his path, he could quickly progress from clearance to game action, as Smith did in October. 

Pacers big man Isaiah Jackson also experienced a rapid turnaround from his Achilles repair in November last year, felt 80-90% healthy in July, eight months later. He participated in Indiana's training camp and played in the Pacers' Oct. 7 preseason opener, 11 months following surgery, though he probably could've played earlier. Jackson's productivity mirrors his from last year, 7.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 19.1 MPG across 24 appearances, including 14 starts. Jackson's teammate James Wiseman suffered an Achilles rupture on Oct. 23 last season, and returned to game action on Oct. 7. The Pacers waived him after his first regular season game. 

The next Achilles return looms when Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray makes his comeback. He suffered his injury on Jan. 31 and underwent his procedure on Feb. 5, placing him at nearly 11 months. Shams Charania reported that Murray's return could happen around New Year's Day, but there was a sense in New Orleans earlier this fall that the Pelicans' struggles, now 6-22, could prompt him to slow his recovery. He hasn't been publicly cleared.

"You have a few negative thoughts in the back of your mind," Smith said of returning. "But at the end of the day, you have to understand you put in the work to get back to that point. So I think once you get out there a couple times and realize you're fine, you're gonna be ok, you start to have confidence in the work that you've put in up to that point. So I think the first couple of times you step out there, it's a little difficult, but after that, you start getting back to basketball." 

Here's what else happened around the NBA this week...

Atlanta (15-14): Trae Young (MCL) returned from missing 22 games on Thursday and scored eight points with 10 assists in a loss to the Hornets. The Hawks had won 13-of-22 without Young, who averaged 17.8 PPG and 7.8 APG through his first six appearances this season. He rested on Friday as Atlanta fell to the Spurs. Young discussed the success the team had without him after his return, saying he wanted to fit into what the Hawks were doing.

"For me, since Day 1, I've always felt I was a puzzle piece to the big puzzle," he said. "I never felt like I was the whole puzzle. I'm about to come back and do the same thing, just be another piece to the puzzle and try to fit in."

Dallas (11-17)/Golden State (13-15): Expected to explore Klay Thompson's trade value as his Mavericks tenure continues to turn sideways between a fluctuating role and the continued fallout of the Luka Dončić trade, the star a significant reason Thompson joined Dallas in free agency. Thompson reportedly hopes to join a contender, but another year remaining on his contract, worth $17 million, could prove a difficult sell to teams around the league in a tight cap environment. The Warriors could re-acquire Thompson as their season points downward, Steph Curry acknowledging that they aren't a good team at the moment. Thompson and Curry reflected on the former's end with Golden State, the prospect of a reunion and more in an ESPN profile. Kyrie Irving remains without a timeline in his return from ACL surgery that took place nearly nine months ago. Al Horford (sciatica) will miss another week.

"I wish (Thompson) was still here," Curry said.

Denver (20-6): Nikola Jokić set the NBA record for assists by a center, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 5,660 with a feed to Jalen Pickett for a three. Jokić called the accomplishment one that he'll think about when his career ends. Jokić landed behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander again in ESPN's first MVP straw poll, receiving 42 points and 822 points to Gilgeous-Alexander's 57 and 865, respectively. Luka Dončić received the only other first-place vote, finishing third, with Cade Cunningham in fourth and Jalen Brunson in fifth. Jaylen Brown received two fourth-place votes and nine fifth-place ones to place ninth on the leaderboard behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tyrese Maxey and Victor Wembanyama. 

Detroit (21-6): Lead the Knicks by 2.0 games in the Ea,st even after an overtime defeat against the Mavs that prompted a post-game rant by JB Bickerstaff following Amen Thompson's ejection. Bickerstaff called out an official for entering with a bias based on comments he made to Bickerstaff during the game. Earlier in the week, Detroit won its fourth straight game at Boston, moving to 2-1 against the Celtics this season behind Cunningham's 32 points and 10 assists. 

Houston (16-8): The Rockets and Connecticut Sun entered substantive talks about the sale and relocation of the WNBA franchise to Houston, where the Comets became the league's first dynasty and played from 1997-2008. The WNBA has pushed for a return to Houston as its next priority following official expansion to Cleveland, and a relocation for Connecticut would likely leave New England without women's basketball until next decade, when Bill Chisholm's Celtics ownership group has expressed interest in an expansion team. Earlier this year, Celtics co-owner Steph Pagliuca and the Sun announced a sale agreement with the intention of relocating the team to Boston to play in TD Garden, alongside a commitment to build a practice facility. The move could've landed the team there in 2027, but WNBA scrutiny led to those talks fizzling after the league indicated that Boston needs to wait its turn. Another relocation plan to Hartford, Connecticut also fell through. The Sun emerged as one of the league's stronger franchises after arriving in 2003.

Indiana (6-21): Signed James Wiseman to a 10-day contract after Tony Bradley fractured his right thumb in Thursday's loss to the Knicks. Wiseman played one game after returning from an Achilles tear last season in training camp. Ben Sheppard (calf), Aaron Nesmith (knee) and Obi Toppin (foot) remained out on Saturday in New Orleans. The Pacers, last in offense, lost three straight to Philadelphia, Washington and New York this week. They're in a tie 1.0 game ahead of the Wizards for the worst record in the league. Indiana visits Boston on Monday night before hosting them on Friday. 

Miami (15-13): Lost their seventh straight game to the Celtics over their last nine with Tyler Herro, Davion Mitchell and Andrew Wiggins out. Kel'el Ware showed well with 24 points and 14 rebounds as the Heat crushed the Celtics on the glass, but had their double-big lineup spread out by the Celtics' small-ball looks and shooting. Adam Silver addressed the ongoing Terry Rozier case at the NBA Cup, calling the Heat's predicament unprecedented but offering no solution to the dispute between Miami and the Hornets regarding their 2023 trade and potential compensation for the Heat. 

“I think I’m incredibly sympathetic to the Heat and to their fans," Silver said. "But I think we’re going to try to work something through, work this out with them. But there’s no obvious solution here. I would just say that there’s no doubt at the moment they have a player that can’t perform services for them.”

Milwaukee (11-17): Giannis Antetokounmpo addressed trade rumors and his calf injury this week, saying that he hasn't discussed a desire to depart the Bucks with the team and has left conversations to his agent as he focuses on re-joining the lineup. Milwaukee has lost 4-of-5 since Antetokounmpo last played, their lone victory over the Celtics, and are now 2-9 without Antetokounmpo. He wants to see more urgency to turn the season around, but that it's not a matter of him telling teammates if they don't win then he'll depart. 

“If my agent is talking to the Bucks about it, he is his own person,” Antetokounmpo said. “He can have any conversation he wants about it. At the end of the day, I don’t work for my agent; my agent works for me. And there’s going to be conversations that are going to be made between him and the Bucks, and him and his other players, and him and other teams and other GMs, executives around the league."