Miami Heat: Kendrick Nunn plays closer in Jimmy-less win over Hawks

Kendrick Nunn #25 of the Miami Heat defends against Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks(Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
Kendrick Nunn #25 of the Miami Heat defends against Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks(Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)

The Miami Heat are going streaking! Well, technically, they’ve already gone!

Winning their sixth straight on Sunday night against the Atlanta Hawks, the Miami Heat are starting to look like the team we have all been waiting to see them be. Even without Jimmy Butler, as they were on Sunday night, they were able to keep that good thing going.

It wasn’t by chance though, there was one guy who had a huge part in it all. That guy would be Kendrick Nunn.

The Miami Heat got a good showing from Kendrick Nunn to help them close the door on Atlanta

Playing a pretty good game throughout, it wasn’t always his scoring that helped him make an impact. That’s really been the biggest improvement for him this year for me.

He was able to fill it up last season, a season that saw him finish near the very top of the Rookie Of The Year balloting. However, this season has seen him crash the boards with more attitude and become a much better playmaker and facilitator for his team and teammates.

That’s the stuff that was on full display Sunday night and they needed it all to get rid of a pesky Hawks team. Though Trae Young came on late, the guy that graduated from high school in Florida, John Collins, had himself a game.

He picked it up during the third quarter and helped the Hawks almost make it a game. In the end though, Kendrick Nunn, Goran Dragic, Precious Achiuwa and the rest of the Miami Heat were too much for them on this Sunday night.

Again, this was a win that was made even more impressive because they did it without Jimmy Butler. The comfort of this game without him though, even in those more tense moments, is evidence of the difference that Goran Dragic makes as well but that’s something we always say and not quite the topic of today’s chat.

In any event, this was another good win for Miami. They will do it all over again on Tuesday as they face this Hawks team again at American Airlines Arena.

Perhaps Jimmy Butler will be back by then or maybe not? Either way, it’s good to know they are capable of getting the job done without him against this team as well, as they did on Sunday night.