NBA in Threes: Nikola Jokic and too much eating; LeBron rolling early
By Jade Johnson
Miami Heat
This game against the Atlanta Hawks was Jimmy Butler‘s second game in a Miami Heat uniform. The Heat are Butler’s fourth team since the 2016-17 season. That said, it seems like Miami could be the just-right NBA home that Butler has been looking for.
I learned during the broadcast that one of the reasons Butler picked Miami is their no-nonsense policies designed to hold players accountable. Back in January, the team fined Dion Waiters for “postgame expletive-laden comments” after an 86-124 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
This season, James Johnson was told by the Heat organization, “You’re welcome to come back when you get back in shape.” Reading SB Nation’s take on the story, it’s clear to me why Butler would be drawn to the team’s accountability culture.
And in turn, Butler has just the kind of leadership presence this young team needs. If you look at his shooting against Atlanta, the 2-10 from the field including 0-2 from 3-point range might make you cringe and rightly so. But Butler had the best plus/minus of anyone who played in that game at +21. His nine rebounds, 11 assists, six steals, and three blocks more than made up for his lack of scoring. I say all the time that veterans are not on teams for their scoring potential. There are lots of young guys for that. Butler’s performance against the Hawks illustrates that perfectly.
Speaking of young guys,“Dang that kid can play!” was an exclamation of mine during the game made in response to the game of Tyler Herro. And what a last name for the kind of player he is. He’s a15 kinds of confident on the floor. He’s not the kind of player who’s going to back down. It’s only a matter of time before he hits a game-winning shot. When that happens I expect the hero jokes to range from downright groan-worthy to absolutely epic.
Something interesting is happening in the NBA that I like to call the Undrafted Rookie Movement. Previously we talked about Detroit Pistons undrafted rookie Christian Wood. Today, it’s Kendrick Nunn making waves. This undrafted rookie has scored 112 points through his first five NBA games. That’s the highest ever for an undrafted rookie. But just in case that information doesn’t give you the full impact of just how good this kid is playing, there’s this:
Kendrick Nunn has scored 108 points in his first 5 games, more than 26 straight No. 1 overall picks had in their first 5 career games (not including Zion). The last No. 1 pick to score 108+ was Shaquille O'Neal in 1992-93 (129).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 1, 2019