Dru Smith is currently sidelined with an injury. However, there's a small chance that he could be back and available for opening night. But whether Smith is back or not, there's no question that Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra's opening night rotation will tell us a lot about his future with the team.
Entering training camp, the belief was that Smith had solidified himself as the team's primary backup point guard. However, especially after his injury, that's far from a certainty now.
But it's not just Smith's injury that might've just complicated his situation within the rotation. Instead, it's been the play of Ryan Conwell in preseason, coupled with seeing Pelle Larsson running some lead guard with the second unit, that are two reasons why.
The rise of Pelle Larsson and Ryan Conwell could overwhelm Dru Smith
Before he sat out the last few games of the preseason due to an illness, Larsson was consistently playing some point guard (and at an effective rate, especially during that first preseason showing). Even though that role was somewhat forced onto him, perhaps sooner than expected, because of the injury to Smith, Larsson playing some point guard wasn't all that surprising.
It's something that Larsson had previously hinted at in training camp. Even though he's far from a natural playmaker on that end of the floor, he didn't look that out of place. That's huge for a team that just doesn't have as much point guard depth as they'd like to have heading into the start of the season.
Conwell also looked pretty solid during his time at the position. Over his last three preseason games specifically, when he was getting much more of an opportunity, Conwell was averaging six assists per contest. Again, Conwell may not be the natural playmaker that the Heat would like to have, but there's clearly something there.
And if Spoelstra is comfortable going to Conwell in his opening-night rotation, whether Smith ends up playing or not, it could be an indication of the beginning of the end for the veteran guard.
Considering that Smith has a team option for next season, there's no denying the fact that this is a pretty big year for him. It does seem as if we're going to find out a lot about where Smith falls with Spoelstra.
There's certainly a role for Smith on this Heat team once he's healthy. But after the strides that Conwell and Larsson have made of late, it just may not be as big as perhaps most thought it would be just a few weeks ago.
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