Kendrick Nunn found himself understating the obvious after Monday's practice at Disney World.
"Their roster's a little different," the Miami Heat rookie guard said of the Boston Celtics, ahead of Tuesday's start of the Eastern Conference finals between the teams.
"It's a lot of motivation," Nunn said. "You go down the line and look at the list of guys we have and they have."
The Celtics' pedigree is the equivalent of those snooty New England private colleges, elite to the NBA draft max.
The Celtics' top five players all were drafted No. 9 or higher, from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown going as No. 3 picks, to Marcus Smart as a No. 6 pick, to Kemba Walker and Gordon Hayward as No. 9 picks. There even is Enes Kanter, a former No. 3 pick, waving a towel from the bench.
For the Heat, Andre Iguodala, a No. 9 pick way back in 2004, is the highest-drafted player on the roster, in a rotation that features undrafted players in Nunn, Duncan Robinson and Derrick Jones Jr.; late-lottery picks in Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk; a No. 30 pick in Jimmy Butler, a No. 34 pick in Jae Crowder, and a No. 45 pick in Goran Dragic.
"Each guy is different, but we believe in guys like that. So many of us have that kind of background," said coach Erik Spoelstra, himself a former second-division player in Germany. "But 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, and have a willingness to work for it and fight for it."
For Boston, there was talent on demand out of the draft. For the Heat, endless hours of development.
"That's our fabric, and it doesn't matter where you've been drafted, or what path you had to take," Spoelstra said Monday. "There's so many different paths to get to this point, to be one of the 450 (players in the NBA), but also to be part of a winning team. And we feel we have a roster full of guys that share the same values."
The last time the Heat faced the Celtics in the playoffs, in winning the 2012 Eastern Conference finals, it was with the No. 1 (LeBron James), No. 4 (Chris Bosh) and No. 5 (Dwyane Wade) picks in the 2003 NBA draft. There also was the top-of-the-draft pedigree of Shane Battier, Juwan Howard and Mike Miller.
Yet ask Spoelstra to compare the moments in time and the conversation practically turns patriarchal, as well as with enduring gratitude to what Heat President Pat Riley and owner Micky Arison have fostered.
"I have two sons now," Spoelstra said. "It'd be like trying to compare kids. I'm in this profession to do my job for an organization that I believe in. I feel like I'm a steward of this culture. And I've been fortunate enough to be a part of the Riley-Arison leadership for 25 years. And we've built many different teams that looked a lot different. All with the same goal.
"But there's been many different personalities and makeups and how we put together the teams. I feel very fortunate to be with this group and think everybody feels the same way in our locker room. We just want to make the most of it for each other."
