Miami Heat Undrafted Players Making It Personal Against Boston Celtics in Eastern Conference Finals
The Miami Heat felt they had a built-in advantage entering the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics.
The Heat have three undrafted players in the rotation. That was plenty motivation for facing the Celtics, who rely heavily on their NBA lottery picks.
"You go down the line and look at the list of the guys that we have and they have," said Heat guard Kendrick Nunn, who went undrafted in 2018 and made the All-Rookie First Team this season. "We got a lot of guys that got out of the mud. We love this type of competition ... It never leaves. You find motivation throughout the season. Every week, you find motivation, every day."
Nunn and forwards Duncan Robinson and Derrick Jones Jr. have all played roles the Heat's success after being draft afterthoughts. They lead the Celtics 2-0 in the best-of-seven series entering Saturday's Game 3 in Orlando.
"Each guy is different but we believe in guys like that," Heat coach Spoelstra said. "That's part of our philosophy, part of our culture. Guys that are extremely motivated, driven, have a passion for this game, have a passion for competition, have a willingness to work for it, to fight for it. That's our fabric. It doesn't matter where you've been drafted or what path you had to take. There are so many paths to get to this point."
FACEBOOK: Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MiamiHeatSI
TWITTER: @ShandelRich
YouTube: Subscribe at https://www.youtube.com/c/ShandelRichardson2876/featured
For any Heat or NBA questions, please email shandelrich@gmail.com
