Miami Heat guard Dru Smith has suffered another season-ending injury, this one a torn Achilles in his left leg.
Smith got hurt Monday night in Miami's 110-95 win over Brooklyn. The Achilles tear was the preliminary diagnosis once he left the court for evaluation, and an MRI exam on Tuesday confirmed the severity of the injury.
It's his third season-ending issue since February 2022. This injury comes 13 months after he was lost for most of the 2023-24 season with a right knee injury. Surgery to repair the Achilles will be scheduled, followed by months of rehab. Smith also saw his 2021-22 season with Miami's Sioux Falls affiliate in the G League cut short by a knee injury.
“You don’t want to see anybody get hurt, but we all have such incredible, deep respect for his journey and what he’s had to overcome,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Monday night, before the full extent of the injury was confirmed. “I’ve been in the building all those times last year when nobody else was here and he was doing all the extensive treatment and rehab, around the clock. He just has incredible fortitude. You end up absolutely rooting for guys like Dru.”
Smith was enjoying the best season of his brief NBA career. He was averaging 6.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 19.1 minutes per game, all of those career-bests. He was on a two-way contract, which was likely going to be upgraded to a standard NBA deal — one that could have raised his salary from $578,577 to just under $1.2 million.
Smith's 2023-24 season ended when he hurt the ACL in his right knee after slipping off a raised portion of the floor in front of the Cleveland Cavaliers bench on Nov. 22, 2023, that mishap also requiring season-ending surgery and several months of recovery. He had been part of Miami’s rotation to that point, appearing in nine of the team’s first 15 games.
Smith has averaged 4.5 points in 38 NBA games with Miami and Brooklyn. He's been in training camp with the Heat in each of the last four seasons.
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Toronto Raptors guard Davion Mitchell (45) fouls Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) dribbles the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) dribbles as Brooklyn Nets guard Keon Johnson (45) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Miami Heat guard Dru Smith, left, loses control of the ball as Brooklyn Nets guard Keon Johnson recovers the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide Tuesday because of a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive and winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive.
Government regulators cleared American flights to get airborne about an hour after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a national ground stop for the airline. The order, which prevented planes from taking off, was issued at the airline's request.
The airline said in an email that the problem was caused by trouble with vendor technology that maintains its flight operating system.
Dennis Tajer, a spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association, a union representing American Airlines pilots, said the airline told pilots at 7 a.m. Eastern that there was an outage affecting the system known as FOS. It handles different types of airline operations, including dispatch, flight planning, passenger boarding, as well as an airplane's weight and balance data, he said.
Some components of FOS have gone down in the past, but a systemwide outage is rare, Tajer said.
Hours after the ground stop was lifted, Tajer said the union had not heard about any “chaos out there beyond just the normal heavy travel day.” He said officials were watching for any cascading effects, such as staffing problems.
Flights were delayed across American's major hubs, with only 37% leaving on time, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. Out of the 3,901 domestic and international American Airlines flights scheduled for Tuesday, 19 were canceled.
Cirium noted that the vast majority of flights were departing within two hours of their scheduled departure time. A similar percentage — 36% — were arriving at their destinations as scheduled.
Meanwhile, the flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 3,712 flights entering or leaving the U.S., or serving domestic destinations, were delayed Tuesday, with 55 flights canceled. It did not show any flights from American Airlines.
Cirium said Dallas-Fort Worth, New York’s Kennedy Airport and Charlotte, North Carolina, saw the greatest number of delays. Washington, Chicago and Miami experienced considerably fewer delays.
Amid the travel problems, significant rain and snow were expected in the Pacific Northwest at least into Christmas Day. Showers and thunderstorms were developing in the South. Freezing rain was reported in the Mid-Atlantic region near Baltimore and Washington, and snow fell in New York.
Because the holiday travel period lasts weeks, airports and airlines typically have smaller peak days than they do during the rush around Thanksgiving, but the grind of one hectic day followed by another takes a toll on flight crews. And any hiccups — a winter storm or a computer outage — can snowball into massive disruptions.
That is how Southwest Airlines stranded 2 million travelers in December 2022, and Delta Air Lines suffered a smaller but significant meltdown after a worldwide technology outage in July caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike.
Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations even more disruptive than during slower periods. That is especially true for smaller budget airlines that have fewer flights and fewer options for rebooking passengers. Only the largest airlines, including American, Delta and United, have “interline agreements” that let them put stranded customers on another carrier’s flights.
This will be the first holiday season since a Transportation Department rule took effect that requires airlines to give customers an automatic cash refund for a canceled or significantly delayed flight. Most air travelers were already eligible for refunds, but they often had to request them.
Passengers still can ask to get rebooked, which is often a better option than a refund during peak travel periods. That’s because finding a last-minute flight on another airline tends to be expensive.
An American spokesperson said Tuesday was not a peak travel day for the airline — with about 2,000 fewer flights than the busiest days — so the airline had somewhat of a buffer to manage the delays.
The groundings happened as millions of travelers were expected to fly over the next 10 days. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 40 million passengers through Jan. 2.
Airlines expect to have their busiest days on Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations more disruptive than during slower periods. Even with just a brief outage, the cancellations have a cascading effect that can take days to clear up.
About 90% of Americans traveling far from home over the holidays will be in cars, according to AAA.
“Airline travel is just really high right now, but most people do drive to their destinations, and that is true for every holiday,” AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said.
Gasoline prices are similar to last year. The nationwide average Thursday was $3.04 a gallon, down from $3.13 a year ago, according to AAA. Charging an electric vehicle averages just under 35 cents per per kilowatt hour, but varies by state.
Transportation-data firm INRIX says travel times on the nation’s highways could be up to 30% longer than normal over the holidays, with Sunday expected to see the heaviest traffic. Boston, New York City, Seattle and Washington are the metropolitan areas primed for the greatest delays, according to the company.
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Associated Press writers David Koenig, Mae Anderson and Mike Pesoli contributed to this report.
An employee wearing a Santa Claus hat walks past boards showing flight delays, in the American Airlines terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
An employee wearing a Santa Claus hat walks past boards showing flight delays, in the American Airlines terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Cesar Davila, who works for the American Airlines partner providing wheelchair assistance, wears a Christmas tree hat and festive glasses as he waits for a traveler to help inside the American Airlines terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Cesar Davila, who works for the American Airlines partner providing wheelchair assistance, wears a Christmas tree hat and festive glasses as he pushes a traveler through the American Airlines terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Two travelers nap near the Alaska Airlines ticketing area at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Travelers wait in line for security checks at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Marie Digna, traveling to Grand Rapids, Mich., enters security with her two sons, Lucian, right, and Samson, at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Travelers wait in line for security checks at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
American Airlines employees, some wearing Santa Claus hats, check in travelers in the American terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
An American Airlines employee wearing a Santa Claus hat walks through the American terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
An American Airlines employee wearing a Santa Claus hat looks toward quiet check-in counters in the American terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
FILE - American Airlines planes wait at gates at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Friday, July 19, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
