.png)
Pat Riley has never been one to blow up a team and rebuild through the draft. Even after the Big Three era ended, he kept Miami (relatively) competitive and was never too far from the play-offs. There has been mixed results for teams rebuilding through the draft in recent years - you only have to look at the super-team created in Golden State that dominated the league for half a decade to show you how effective it can be. On the other end of the scale are teams like Sacramento. The Kings have had ten top-10 picks since 2010, including the likes of DeMarcus Cousins, but have failed to make the play-offs since 2006. While the future does look encouraging behind speedy point-guard De’Aaron Fox, their recent history suggests that play-off drought may continue.
The Heat on the other hand, have been lounging in the middle for quite some time (in terms of draft success anyway). Before Bam Adebayo’s inclusion in the 2020 All-Star game, the Heat had not had a drafted player make an All-Star squad since Dwyane Wade. That’s just two Heat draftees being named All-Stars in 15 years. Honourable mentions should go to Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson however; two dependable draft picks for the Heat who contributed well, but never quite lived up to their expectations before moving on to Memphis and Philadelphia respectively. The Heat have also found decent value in undrafted players - see Rodney McGruder and Tyler Johnson as two recent examples that spring to mind.
All of those guys though, don’t quite come close to the Heat’s current crop of youngsters, whether drafted or not. Bam Adebayo is an All-Star, a finalist for Most Improved Player and a candidate for an All-Defensive Team. His breakout season has been truly remarkable. Released from the shackles and behind the 7-foot shadow of Hassan Whiteside, Bam has put up career numbers in every category. Only Nikola Jokic and Giannis have more assists per game amongst big-men, and Bam has the 9th most triple-doubles in the league this year, plus he was named NBA Player of the Week in December. The Heat front court is in safe hands while Bam is the team’s anchor, and hopefully for Heat fans, that will be for many years to come.
This year’s draft pick, Tyler Herro, is a bucket. A young gunner with the confidence of an All-Star vet and the ability to back it up. His explosive start to his NBA career saw him included in the Rising Stars game at All-Star Weekend, and he’s already claimed a couple of quite remarkable records. He has set a franchise record for most 3-pointers made in one game by a rookie, and has also recorded the most points by a teenager in Heat history. His impressive performances in the clutch - see his performance versus the 76ers back in December - have backed up the confidence he has, and has shown Coach Spo that he now has a reliable scorer and option in the clutch for years to come. That would usually be quite something by itself. But then there is playoff Tyler. In Miami’s first round sweep of the Indiana Pacers Herro averaged 16.5 points, shot 36% from range and had a plus/minus of 5.3 while averaging 32 minutes. Spo trusted Tyler down the stretch, and he was part of the Heat’s closing group in every game of the first round. Has Tyler been nervous at any point during the series? “No?” he said, looking surprised that he was even asked the question. Tyler has shown in his short playoff experience that he can be a closer, and with his constant improvements on the defensive end, his transition into an all-round starter is surely not far away.
The next two players are an example of the quality of Miami’s elite scouting department.
Undrafted to Rookie of the Year finalist. No, it isn’t a storyline from NBA 2K MyCareer, it is however the unbelievable debut season of Kendrick Nunn. Kendrick spent his first year post-draft in the G-League with the Santa Cruz Warriors, before being picked up by Miami with whom he dropped 40 in a pre-season game. His intentions were clear from day zero. Kendrick started his NBA career hot. He averaged 22 points in his first week, scoring 112 points in his first five games, tying the record for the most points by a rookie in his first five games since Kevin Durant put up the same numbers in 2007. The records didn’t stop there. Nunn became the first undrafted rookie in NBA history to win multiple Rookie of the Month awards, notching a three-peat from November through to January, which makes it no surprise that he joins Morant and Zion Williamson - the first and second picks - as a finalist for Rookie of the Year.
And then there was Duncan. A Division III player a couple of years ago. Now, one of the best shooters on the planet. Robinson made just 10 threes a year ago, playing only 15 games for the Heat, so it’s no wonder he was slept on by every team’s scouting department. The season, he has played in every Miami Heat game and made a Heat record 270 threes while averaging the league’s fourth best clip from downtown. Against the Pelicans on March 6th, Duncan hit 8 threes taking his season tally to 233 and in doing so claimed 3 records in one night. He passed Wayne Ellington’s single-season Heat three-point record, Damon Jones’ NBA undrafted player single-season three-point record, and Kyle Korver’s NBA single-season record for most threes by a first or second year player. His numbers for his sophomore year are so remarkable that he is now the first player in NBA history to average a 2P%/3P%/FT% of more than 60/40/90 (.654/.446/.931). His hot shooting this season and appearance in the 3-point contest at All-Star weekend pretty much guarantees he won’t be slept on anymore.
For a couple of years now, the Heat have been consistently near the bottom of the league in offensive rating and 3-point percentage, but with the emergence of Herro, Nunn and Robinson - with Bam in the middle - the Heat are now a formidable offensive unit and a real threat to any team in the league. The future looks hot down in Miami.
Comments