Miami Heat: Kendrick Nunn relishing in return home for All-Star Weekend

The Miami Heat’s Kendrick Nunn started the season super but has since slightly cooled nearing the All-Star break. Perhaps being home will get him off the snide.

The Miami Heat got off to a heck of a start to the year and has subsequently flipped that start into one of the top records in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. While Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo have been the All-Star headliners, one of their co-stars is steadily vying for more lines.

Kendrick Nunn has been a revelation for the Miami Heat this year, in case you hadn’t already heard about him. He has manned and impressively held down one of the starting guard spots all season long and in just his rookie NBA season.

Not only has his stats in the first half of the season been impressive at 15.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per contest, again just the first half-season of his NBA career, but he has also managed to nab the NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award all three times this season thus far.

Nunn, unfortunately, suffered an Achilles injury a week or so back that caused him to miss a short time from action. Since returning, he hasn’t been his usual electric and springy self.

A ton of his misses have been of the short variety which makes you want to lean towards that Achilles not being where it needs to be or him simply needing more time to get back to form. In either situation, rest will help.

Although Nunn will be participating in this weekend’s NBA Rising star challenge as apart of the NBA’s All-Star Weekend in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, he should still have ample opportunity to get that Achilles some rest. Since he arrived Thursday, after a Wednesday night Utah game and before the Friday night Rising Stars game, he had an opportunity to visit his old high school as well.

Hopefully, the nostalgia, the home cooking, the warm embraces, and the feelings of being apart of All-Star Weekend and around the All-Stars accelerate Kendrick Nunn’s recovery. The Miami Heat will need him to make the playoff push in the second half of the season.

Nunn will be joined by Miami Heat players all over the itinerary for ASW with many of them participating in the contests and the All-Star Game alike. The Miami Heat are right back at it four days after the All-Star Game on Thursday against the Atlanta Hawks and you can believe Trae Young will be fired up off his first All-Star appearance.