Inside The Heat

Erik Spoelstra Calls Cleveland Cavaliers' Court "Dangerous" After Dru Smith Injury

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra thinks design of Cleveland Cavaliers sideline was to blame for Dru Smith's knee injury in first half

Shandel Richardson

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Miami Heat guard Dru Smith will accompany the team to New York for Saturday's game against the Knicks. 

He left Wednesday's victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers after sustaining a knee injury in the first half. 

"I think he'll come with us to New York and then we'll figure out when we'll get a scan." Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. 

Spoelstra was more concerned with the issue of the design of the Cavaliers court. He said he felt it played a role in the injury. Smith was making a defensive close out in the corner while trying to block a shot in front of the Cavs bench. The court is slightly elevated, causing Smith to land at a lower level.  

"It's a dangerous floor. I don't the history of injuries here but we've had a couple near scares in previous years when guys are closing out in that corner. Thankfully, nobody's been injured before but it's an accident waiting to happen. You close out and all of a sudden you're going off a cliff. It's just so dangerous. As soon as he stayed down, we all knew that's probably what happened."

Spoelstra said they will evaluate Smith once they get settled in New York. He believes the injury would have been avoided if it were at a different arena. 

"We'll just have to wait and see," Spoelstra said. "Dru is mentally tough ... It's really unfortunate for an effort play. If the court was normal, I don't think there would have been any kind of incident." 

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat, a Fan Nation channel for Sports Illustrated. He has covered the NBA since 2010.

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here

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