How each Miami Heat rotation player did something historic or among NBA leaders this year
The Miami Heat’s regular season was supposed to end Tuesday, which would mean looking ahead to the playoffs and celebrating Duncan Robinson’s record-setting season, Kendrick Nunn’s rookie feats and Bam Adebayo’s incredible development.
A close inspection reveals each Heat rotation player ranked among the league leaders in something, or achieved something nobody else or few others did this season or something that’s rare in NBA history.
Here’s the most unique individual achievement each Heat rotation player made this season as we await resolution on whether the NBA season will resume:
▪ Robinson: No player other than Steph Curry has ever hit as many three-pointers in a season at such a high rate of accuracy. Let that marinate for a minute.
Robinson hit 243 threes this season while shooting an absurd 44.8 percent from three-point range.
Only Curry has ever made as many three pointers as Robinson at a higher percentage, and he did it twice: 272 made threes on 45.3 percent shooting in 2012-13 and 402 on 45.4 percent in 2016-17.
▪ Adebayo: If this is the end of the regular season, Adebayo will join Oscar Robertson as the only players to average at least 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists before turning 23. Adebayo stands at 16.2, 10.5 and 5.1. Heady stuff, to be sure.
▪ Jimmy Butler: He’s the only player in the league who averaged at least: 20 points a game, 6 rebounds a game, 6 assists a game, 8 free throws a game (9.1 in Butler’s case) and 1.6 steals a game. What’s more, he’s shooting 83.3 percent from the line.
Yes, the three-point shooting was off this season (24.8 percent), but the consistent across-the-board contributions — and the impact it had on winning — shouldn’t be short-sold.
▪ Nunn: With 972 points, Nunn scored more in his first 62 games than any other undrafted player during the common draft era (post-1966) except Connie Hawkins (1,494).
Significantly behind Nunn at 3 through 5 on that list: Josh Brisker, Phil Chenier and Sean Kilpatrick.
Also, at 15.6 points per game, Nunn ranked second among all rookies in points per game, behind only Memphis’ Ja Morant, at 17.6.
▪ Tyler Herro: Among players with at least eight clutch three-pointers this season, only Joe Harris shot better than Herro on threes in clutch time, among all NBA guards this season.
Herro was 8 for 15 on threes (53.3 percent) in the clutch, defined by the NBA as the final five minutes of a game with a margin of five points or fewer.
▪ Derrick Jones Jr: Among players who defended at least 400 shots this season, only two NBA forwards — both perennial MVP candidates — allowed the player they’re defending to shoot a lower percentage. Jones permitted those players to shoot 40.1 percent, compared to the 45.5 those players shot in general.
In the 400-shot-defended club, only superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo (36.1) and Anthony Davis (38.5) held the man they’re defending to a lower shooting percentage than Jones did.
▪ Goran Dragic: He was not only fifth among all NBA bench players in scoring at 16.2 (behind only Denis Schoder, Lou Williams, Montrez Harrell and Derrick Rose), but also consider this:
Dragic was the NBA’s only reserve to average at least 16 points and 5 assists while shooting at least 37 percent from three-point range (he’s at 37.7).
▪ Kelly Olynyk: No NBA player (minimum 20 makes) shot threes better — or even close to as well — as Olynyk since the All Star break. Olynyk hit 20 of 30 threes since the break (66.6 percent).
Philadelphia’s Shake Milton was closest to Olynyk in post-break three-point accuracy: 29 for 49, 59.2 percent.
And at 43.2 percent overall for the season, Olynyk ranks sixth among all NBA players in three-point shooting this year.
▪ Andre Iguodala: Among all NBA forwards who defended at least 90 shots this season, only Antetokounmpo allowed players to shoot a lower percentage.
Iguodala held the player he guarded to 37.6 percent shooting on 93 shot attempts. Those same players shot 45.6 percent overall.
▪ Jae Crowder: How much did Erik Spoelstra value him since the trade? Only two NBA players logged more fourth-quarter minutes than Crowder since the All-Star break: Washington’s Davis Bertans with 104 and the Heat’s Robinson with 102. Crowder tied with Larry Nance Jr. with 101.
And Crowder’s in-season three-point accuracy jump was among the highest in NBA history: from 29.3 with Memphis to 39.3 with the Heat. The record for that: Mo Williams, with a 13.3 percent jump after a midseason trade.
▪ Meyers Leonard: By making 42.9 percent of his threes (51 for 119), Leonard now stands at 39.2 percent in his career on threes, making him the most accurate three-point shooting 7-footer in NBA history.
Leonard got there by shooting 42.3, 45 and 42.9 percent on threes in his past three seasons.
NEWS NOTE
The Chicago Bulls internally discussed interviewing Heat director of analytics Shane Battier for an executive job, but nothing materialized. The Heat values Battier and he could emerge with a key front office role down the line.
