After Heat’s Smith set the pace, he’s glad to see Celtics’ Tatum also beat Achilles timeline
MIAMI — Dru Smith smiled when asked to define the Dru Smith Rapid Recovery Regimen and whether he had trademarked any such phrase or treatment blueprint.
“No,” the Heat guard said with a smile, “it’s different for everyone.”
Only it’s not, at least when it comes to Achilles tears.
What used to mean a full year on the sidelines for NBA players has become something less, as Smith showed in what turned into a nine-month recovery that got him back on the court from last December’s tear in time for the start of this season, and, now, with Jayson Tatum back in the Boston Celtics ’ mix after his playoff tear last May.
“All I know, is you just want to see everybody be healthy,” Smith said, with the Heat moving on from Thursday night’s victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Kaseya Center to Friday night’s road game against the Charlotte Hornets . “I think last year was kind of a crazy year as far as the Achilles goes. So it’s been good to see guys able to make it back, like seeing Dejounte Murray back out there playing again.”
Media gathered at Smith’s locker prior to each of the Heat’s visits to Boston this season practically were pressing him for reassurance that Tatum would also make it back this season. Smith was careful not to shop hope at those moments and said there remains an appreciation for Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard opting to take a full year with their Achilles tears sustained last season.
“Haliburton and Lillard, obviously they’re taking this year, the whole year, so I think you just hope guys are doing OK,” Smith said. “You get going through the process and you just understand that it’s long, the days are long.
“So you’re just hoping that when everybody comes back, they feel healthy.”
Smith, 28, has returned in a role similar to his previous Heat tours, a backup guard asked to step up if there are injuries to others, otherwise largely in the shadows, as has particularly been the case amid the recent ascension of rookie guard Kasparas Jakucionis , the 2025 first-round out of Illinois.
With Tatum, also 28, it obviously is about stepping into something bigger, particularly with some now forecasting the Celtics as the favorite to come out of the East.
So, yes, Smith will be monitoring the Celtics, a potential Heat postseason opponent.
But, he said, no expectations.
“It all just depends on how your body responds,” Smith said of this next Tatum step. “And you really never know until you jump back into the real games.
“You can’t really simulate it. So I think, really, that more than everything, just continue to listen to your body.”
Which Smith did, along with listening to his doctors, with sports science and sports medicine seemingly creating new Achilles timetables.
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“I think it’s just a combination of things,” Smith said. “I think the surgeries, the medicine, everything has gotten better, the rehabs have. And I’m sure it will continue to get better, just all of it.”
As for the Dru Smith Rapid Recovery Regimen, he said there also is the innate competitiveness of athletes.
“The more that everybody sees each other, the way that they can, that they’ve been able to do it, handle it, that kind of thing, I think, just builds that belief that you can do the same thing,” he said of beating the traditional timetable.
But no, an expectation of an immediate return at the top of the game he said also would be misguided.
“If there’s days that you’ve got to take days off, that’s kind of what it is,” Smith said. “I think it’s just all how you respond and how your body responds, and also the situation that you’re in.”
So. no, Dru Smith is not saying Jayson Tatum pulled off a Dru Smith, but there is a sense of pride and appreciation by Smith for what he did and others are doing.
“Just obviously happy to see everybody be healthy,” Smith said. “You hate to see guys go down. So, yeah, I would just say just good to see guys getting back.”
