Miami Heat Undrafted Players Making It Personal Against Boston Celtics in Eastern Conference Finals

The Miami Heat have three undrafted players, Kendrick Nunn, Derrick Jones Jr, Duncan Robinson, making an impact against the Boston Celtics

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."

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here