Getty Miami Heat guard Kendrick Nunn has developed an impressive all-around game in his second year.
It could be argued that Kendrick Nunn has been the straw stirring the Miami Heat daiquiri all year. The second-year guard has been getting huge minutes in key games as injuries continue to decimate the roster.
Nunn — last year’s Rookie of the Year runner-up — was inserted into the Heat starting five back on Feb. 7 following a 25-point outburst against the Washington Wizards where he posted a +17 in 32 minutes. He’s averaging 17.1 points per game for the month of February while raising that to 18 points per game over his last five contests. The Chicago native has been enjoying his new role, trying to improve his overall game every day at practice.
“I always look at my game overall,” Nunn told reporters after dropping 24 points in Sunday’s 109-99 win, “and not just try to pinpoint just one specific thing. I try to get better on both ends of the floor.”
The Miami Heat are 5-2 when Kendrick Nunn scores 20 or more points #HEATTwitter
And his hard work and dedication have had a trickle-down effect on the entire Heat squad. Something happened on that bus ride from San Francisco to Sacramento on Feb. 18 that turned their season around.
“Just our preparation is definitely different,” Nunn said. “I think our depth, our poise … just reading the game and being able to make plays in the clutch and knocking down shots.”
Per t.co/WBy6Nhc04H, K. Nunn is holding his defensive assignments to just 36.5 percent shooting over the past six games.
Nunn’s shown steady improvement and has been getting it done in both man and zone schemes.
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Trading K-Nunn Disastrous to Chemistry
The one name mentioned in every single Heat trade rumor has been Nunn. Why? Because the undrafted kid out of the Horizon League never carried the same cache as Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson. He was seen as expendable — up until a few weeks ago.
He was forced into a starting role following injuries to Avery Bradley and Goran Dragic, coupled with Herro’s move to the bench. The other night, with Jimmy Butler out with knee inflammation, Nunn was arguably the best player on the court. His defense versus Trae Young was outstanding. His offense was unstoppable. Miami would be fools to give up the 25-year-old in a trade right now.
Presenting last night’s leading scorer @nunnbetter_
“Defensively, he’s really helped us and this has been a year and a half process of really learning our system,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Nunn. “Being held accountable to that, growing comfortable, being able to defend different ways, and he has the ability to do it which helps especially against these really quick, skilled guards [like Young]. And then offensively, he’s just constantly in the gym, watching film, working on his quarterback reads, it’s really no mystery how he’s gotten better.”
Team Player First, Trusting the Process
Sure, Nunn can rattle cages at times. He wasn’t shy about stating his candidacy for Rookie of the Year honors in the bubble, going so far as to say he thought he was snubbed. But that’s more his crazy confidence talking than his ego.
Nunn understands the importance of playing for each other and adhering to Miami Heat Culture, especially when their top star is out.
“Jimmy [Butler] trusts us,” Nunn said. “He believes in us that we can get the job done, with the guys we have on this team, just coming together and just playing for each other. Making inspiring plays and just making plays, flat-out making plays, that’s what it came down to.”
Nunn credited a “collective effort” for defeating the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night for their sixth straight win.
“That was a big-time game for us, took a step in the right direction with guys out again,” Nunn said. “It took a collective team effort to get this win, we got some stops, some big stops, some big buckets when we needed them, and it’s a good win.”
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