Kendrick Nunn stepping up with shorthanded roster. What it means for Nunn and the Heat

The Miami Heat has spent most of the first month of this season without key players.

Five-time All-Star Jimmy Butler has played in just six of the Heat’s games, and he has been out for the past two weeks because of the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Guard Avery Bradley (protocols) and center Meyers Leonard (left shoulder strain) have also missed the past two weeks of game action.

In addition, Heat starting guard Tyler Herro (neck spasms) missed his fourth consecutive game in Friday’s 101-81 road loss to the Toronto Raptors, and the team decided to send him home to Miami on Friday rather than have him push through the pain. So, Herro will also be unavailable for the final two games of the trip on Saturday and Monday against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.

Too many missed shots, turnovers, rebounding issues. Takeaways from Heat’s loss to Raptors

All of those missing minutes have to be played by others, and Heat second-year guard Kendrick Nunn is working to make the most of the opportunity.

“We got some guys out right now, so guys got to step up,” Nunn said in advance of Saturday night’s road matchup against the Nets. “We have a deep roster, so anybody can get it going at any time. When your number is called, you just have to be ready.”

Nunn has done exactly that and more, as he entered Saturday’s game against the Nets averaging 22.7 points while shooting 58.1 percent from the field and 44.4 percent on threes, 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and two steals off the bench for the shorthanded Heat in the last three games.

Before this three-game stretch, Nunn had averaged just 5.5 points on 40 percent shooting and 1.7 assists in limited playing time this season.

“It’s the minutes for me,” Nunn said of what has been the difference. “Just getting in the game and getting in the flow of the game. Then after that, I can just be myself. Get in the flow of the game, get into a rhythm and make winning plays.”

Nunn has averaged 35.8 minutes of playing time during his three-game surge, as his offensive role has grown with Bradley, Butler and Herro out. Nunn averaged just 14.6 minutes of playing time and received three DNP-CDs (did not play, coach’s decision) to begin the season before this recent stretch.

Nunn, 25, finished Friday’s loss to the Raptors with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting, four rebounds, five assists and three steals. That came two nights after he recorded a season-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting on threes, eight rebounds and five assists off the bench in Wednesday’s win over the Raptors.

It’s the first time Nunn has put together consecutive 20-point performances since February of last season.

Nunn is 19 of 34 (55.9 percent) on jump shots, according to NBA tracking stats, during his best three-game stretch in almost a year.

“We always are happy for our brother. We enjoy each other’s success,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said. “There were times when K-Nunn wasn’t playing and he was enjoying my success, Duncan [Robinson’s] success and it was his turn, so we’re just going to enjoy his success and just keep feeding off of that. He’s a spark for us. It’s good to see him out there getting back to himself.”

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Returning to form for Nunn means getting back to who he was for most of last season, when he made the All-Rookie First Team and finished second in the voting for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award.

Nunn started in each of his 67 regular-season appearances last season and was one of the NBA’s top rookies before the season was suspended in March. He averaged 15.6 points on 44.8 percent shooting from the field and 36.2 percent shooting on threes, 2.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 62 games before the pandemic paused play.

But after recovering from a COVID-19 diagnosis in July, Nunn couldn’t pick up where he left off when the Heat’s season resumed in August in the Walt Disney World bubble. His offensive efficiency dropped off and he was moved to a bench role in the playoffs, as he averaged 6.1 points on 39.1 percent shooting, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 15 games last postseason.

“I just want to stay consistent, play a full season,” Nunn said of his goals for his second NBA season. “That’s the postseason, as well. Just staying consistent with my game throughout and just continue to be myself and bring my strengths to the game, and that’s scoring and playmaking and getting stops defensively.”

Nunn has looked more like the pre-bubble version of himself lately. It’s a small three-game sample size but an encouraging development for the Heat, nonetheless.

“K-Nunn has incredible competitive character. He really does,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He has a grit and a perseverance to him. Not only do you have confidence that he’ll be able to respond with this kind of adversity. But you respect him so much that you’re like really rooting for him and you really want it for him. It was great just to see all the work that nobody else sees behind the scenes. He just grinds and works at it every day.”

The question is: What will Nunn’s role be when Bradley, Butler and Herro eventually return? Nunn is set to become a restricted free agent this upcoming offseason.

“It feels good, just getting out there and getting some minutes and being able to play,” Nunn said. “It’s tough sitting on the bench and watching my team out there, and I know I can help us win. So it’s tough sitting on the sidelines. But when my number is called, I go out there and produce.”

▪ The Heat will be without Bradley, Butler, Herro and Leonard on Saturday against the Nets. None of those four players traveled to Brooklyn.

Herro, who was sent home to Miami on Friday, has been ruled out for the rest of the trip and will miss the Heat’s two road games against the Nets on Saturday and Monday.

Bradley and Butler had not resumed basketball activity yet, as of Friday.