Heat’s Dru Smith leaves with lower left leg injury

Heat guard Grape Smith experienced an injury in the lower left leg in Monday’s competition vs. Brooklyn and was suspended for the rest of the competition, the team announced (via Twitter).

Although the severity of the damage has yet to be formally revealed, it didn’t look good in real time, according to a couple of local reporters (Twitter links via Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald).

Smith went straight back to the locker room after the injury and his wife joined him, according to Winderman and Chiang. For what it’s worth, several fans responding in the comments seem to believe that Smith may have suffered an Achilles injury.

As Chiang notes (via Twitter), the third-year guard is on a two-way contract, and he appeared to be front runner to be promoted to a standard deal, with the Heat having to fill their 14th standard spot by December 29 after trade Thomas Bryant. A major injury would be a devastating outcome for both parties, but especially for Smith, who missed most of last season with a torn right ACL.

Smith, who turns 27 next week, has been a rotation fixture for Miami lately, in part because of his impressive defense. Over the past eight gameshad he averaged 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.3 steals in 26.1 minutes with a shooting line of .532/.560/.769.