Miami Heat guard Kendrick Nunn says his team was poised to make a deep run in the postseason prior to the NBA’s stoppage of play due to the novel coronavirus.
Nunn spoke with Will Manso of Miami ABC affiliate WPLG and indicated that the Heat’s bench, along with the collective ability of the team, serves as the source of his confidence.
“The type of talent and the guys and positions we have on our team, we’re a very strong team,” Nunn told Manso. “The depth we have as well, that will help us down the line. The last game of the season was a loss … but we were definitely looking for the playoffs and making that run into the Finals.”
After being signed last April, the 24-year-old Nunn has made the most of his opportunity during his first NBA season.
Nunn was averaging 15.6 points, 3.4 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game when the 2019-20 season came to an abrupt halt.
At the time play was suspended, the Heat had the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference at 41-24. If play does resume for this season, it’s likely to commence with the postseason, which would give the Heat home-court advantage in the first round.
Key addition Jimmy Butler, the emergence of Bam Adebayo and the contributions of Nunn and fellow rookie Tyler Herro help explain how the Heat have been able to improve from last year’s 39-43 campaign.
That 2018-19 season was the third time in the previous five years that the Heat missed out on the playoffs, a rut that the team looked ready to end.
Right now, there are no guarantees that the NBA will get back on the court this season. If it does, it’ll be interesting to see if Nunn’s predictions about the future become reality.