Miami Heat: Could Goran Dragic supplant Kendrick Nunn as the starter?

The Miami Heat got back into action on Wednesday night as apart of the NBA restart scrimmage schedule. Could Goran Dragic continue as the starter though?

The Miami Heat looked relatively good on Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings. Even without two of their biggest guns offensively that also happen to be starters, in Kendrick Nunn and Bam Adebayo, they still came out and were able to impress.

Jimmy Butler got back into the swing of things, being the all-around court maven that he has been all season long for the Miami Heat. Duncan Robinson picked up right where he left off, continuing to be the best shooter in the league this year, splashing at will on Wednesday night.

Tyler Herro ran the second unit really well. The touch on his jump shot has still yet to fully come back, but that is ok considering the layoff, the extra ball-handling, and distribution duties he was tasked with taking on in Wednesday’s matchup.

Then there was Goran Dragic. Usually, the Miami Heat’s super sixth man this season, Dragic was pushed into the starting lineup with the absence of Nunn, specifically. Needless to say, he played well.

Dragic hit the jump shots we have gotten accustomed to seeing him hit this season with regularity, while also being the little bull that he is when it comes to getting into the lane and finishing. He finished two drives, in particular, one a classic Goran float shot within a few feet of the basket after shedding the defense and another classic Dragon conversion plus the foul.

The Dragon was definitely on his game Wednesday and you love to see it, even though neither he nor Jimmy played in the second half. That begs of a question though, could we see Dragic permanently pushed into the first unit, thus moving Nunn to the bench?

The Miami Heat looked good in their first scrimmage action. With Goran Dragic starting in place of Kendrick Nunn, could that be permanent moving forward?

The short answer is no. Here is a somewhat longer explanation though. There are multiple factors to consider here.

Even though Dragic is a combo/scoring guard more so than your traditional point guard, he is more than capable of manning those duties and running that second unit, while providing a necessary overall boost and one to that second unit in the form of his scoring abilities.

Kendrick Nunn has some of that scoring explosiveness, but he lacks the overall ability needed to run a unit. You like Tyler Herro there in that role as well, but that is more a third option at this point, whereas Goran is the best fit there to run the bench unit.

It also gives Goran the opportunity to be the dominant player on the floor with that particular unit as well as more reign over the rock. As stated, he is the best option as far as a playmaker goes on the second unit, but his ability to be that microwave off the bench is very valuable to the team as a whole as well.

Lastly, with him coming in off the bench, it allows him to still be fresh and somewhat a surprise when he comes in to help close games. There have been a few games this season where the Miami Heat wouldn’t have won if it weren’t for the late-game heroics of one Goran Dragic.

So, while it may have seemed like it was the thing to do moving forward to some, it isn’t when thinking about the best thing for the team overall as they look to complete the season and go on a title run. Goran is the much better player, still at this point, but this has been why he won’t supplant Kendrick Nunn as the starter.