All-Star Weekend may have been cure for Nunn
CLEVELAND — Sometimes it is the innocuous that can provide inspiration, or, in Kendrick Nunn’s case, spark a revival.
No, the Miami Heat rookie guard hardly put any particular meaning in the Rising Stars game during NBA All-Star Weekend, other than a chance to further show he belonged after spending a season in the G League.
But then something tangible took place. He began to hit shots. And then more shots. And then, when it was over, when his Team USA had defeated a similar Team World of first and second-year players, there he stood, 7 of 11 from the field.
Meaningless had turned meaningful. Because prior to that Friday
night at Chicago’s United Center, the numbers had created concern. Since returning Feb. 1 following a three-game absence due to Achilles soreness, Nunn had shot 28 of 94, a .298 percentage hardly in line with being named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month three consecutive times.
“We told him, ‘We don’t care how many shots you miss,’ ” guard Goran Dragic said. “We need him in the offense. When he’s aggressive, it opens it up for everyone else. Sooner or later that shooting touch was going to come back.”
It came back in an event where the score was secondary, defense less than afterthought.
No matter, confidence was re
stored amid the Chicago chill of his hometown.
“It definitely was a game where I just wanted to go out there and have some fun,” he said. “But I definitely saw the ball going through the basket and I got back into my rhythm and got into the flow of the game. So it helped.”
In the Heat’s first game after the All-Star break, there was 5 of 8 shooting in Atlanta, his 14-point performance two points shy of his high over the previous month. Then, Saturday at AmericanAirlines Arena, he
shot 7 of 12 for a game-high 24 points in the Heat’s 124-105 blowout of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“It was frustrating, but I stuck with it,” he said of breaking out of his slump, as he turned his attention to Monday night’s rematch against the Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. “I took the same shots. I played defense. So just shoot it out, stay aggressive, don’t alter my shot or anything like that.”
And didn’t blame the Achilles.
“Not at all,” he said. “If it was still bothering me, I would be sitting out. I wouldn’t even step on the court. So that wasn’t an issue.”
The shots now falling, he said, are the
same ones previously failing.
“Absolutely,” he said. “That’s the crazy part about it. They feel the exact same, miss or make.”
Dragic said that as he watched Nunn during that All-Star Weekend exhibition, he saw the door open for a revival, as innocuous as that evening was.
“Definitely,” he said. “For us, even in a pick-up game, if you see the ball go in, it definitely helps. That’s how you build the confidence, even in practice, with the repetitions.”
Nunn said just as significant was his coach and his team remaining confident.
“Absolutely. I felt that,” he said. “That’s what gave me confidence, as well, too. That
helps, a lot.”
Seeing the Cavaliers in the opposite uniforms — as again will be the case Monday night — didn’t hurt.
Saturday’s game against the Cavaliers was Nunn’s 14th 20-point game of the season, the sixth-highest total by a Heat rookie. It was his second against Cleveland, now averaging 19.3 points in the three meetings with the Cavaliers.
For Nunn, it all is part of his NBA growing pains — and healing.
“You don’t make 100% of your shots,” he said. “When you have games like, that you have to be mentally tough and stick with it. It’s just staying locked in and within the flow of the game.”