Duncan Robinson reacts to becoming Heat’s new three-point leader. Also, a Jimmy Butler update
To understand the significance of Duncan Robinson’s record-setting night for the Miami Heat, it’s important to remember where he came from.
Robinson, 28, started his college career at Division III Williams College before transferring to the University of Michigan. Then Robinson went undrafted in 2018 before signing a two-way contract with the Heat that summer.
And in Friday night’s 124-119 road loss to the Denver Nuggets to open a five-game West Coast trip, Robinson finished with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting from deep to become the new franchise leader for the most career three-pointers made by a Heat player. Robinson has hit 807 threes in his Heat career, surpassing the previous record of 806 made threes set by Tim Hardaway.
If somebody would have told Robinson while he was playing Division III basketball that he would hold that record just five seasons into his NBA career, what would his reaction have been?
“Hell no. No, no, no,” Robinson said before the Heat continued its trip on Saturday against the Utah Jazz (9 p.m., Bally Sports Sun). “I would have thought you might be on something. Yeah, no I never would have imagined that. Stuff like that definitely helps put it all in perspective, so I’m grateful.”
Making it even more impressive is the fact that Robinson set the record in just 265 regular-season games, with this era of basketball including more three-pointers than ever. Hardaway needed 367 regular-season games with the Heat to set the previous mark.
“I mean, it’s not nothing,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Robinson’s historic night. “It’s pretty remarkable what he’s been able to do and how much he’s had to overcome with the different path to get to this point. I’m happy for him. And I know Timmy was happy for him. I just wish it could have led to a win.”
Robinson has seen his role with the Heat shrink from full-time starter last season to full-time reserve this season and he entered Saturday shooting just 34.4 percent from three-point range this season — his lowest percentage since his rookie year in 2018-19.
But Robinson’s new record serves as a reminder of the elite outside shooter he is.
“He’s always been one of the best shooters I’ve ever seen. The best shooter I’ve ever seen besides myself,” Heat guard Tyler Herro said with a smile. “But ever since I’ve been here, he’s been a guy who comes in and works hard every single day no matter what the results were the night before. I think everything he’s gone through just to stay ready, I’m just happy for him with where he’s at now and obviously being able to break the record. That’s big time.”
Robinson entered this season shooting 40.6 percent on threes in his first four NBA seasons and set a Heat record for threes made (270) in a single season in 2019-20.
Even when including this season’s struggles, Robinson is still shooting 40.2 percent on 7.6 three-point attempts per game during his NBA career. Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are the only other two players in league history who have shot better than 40 percent from deep on seven or more three-point attempts per game in their NBA careers.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to take a little time afterwards to reflect,” Robinson said after setting the record. “I haven’t really taken too much time in the process of it. But yeah, I’m proud of the journey. A lot of people helped me along the way. A lot of people in this organization, a lot of teammates, a lot of people in my corner. It’s not just me, so I celebrate it with them, for sure.”
Robinson hadn’t heard from Hardaway as of shortly after Friday night’s game. But Robinson has developed a friendship with his son, Dallas Mavericks wing Tim Hardaway Jr., who also attended Michigan.
After passing Hardaway, Robinson is now in a class that includes Hall of Famers like Paul Pierce, Reggie Miller, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash and Manu Ginobili as players who stand as franchise leaders for career three-pointers made.
“There have been some great players and great shooters to come through this organization and play here for a while,” Herro said. “So for him to do it in such a short period of time, it will be his record for a while I’m guessing now, until I come.”
That’s why Robinson doesn’t expect his new record to hold up for long. The 22-year-old Herro, who is just in his fourth NBA season, has made 491 threes during his career.
“Tyler is on my heels,” Robinson said. “I just told him that I got it for now, but you’re going to get it soon. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.”
BUTLER UPDATE
Heat star Jimmy Butler will miss Saturday’s game against the Jazz on the back end of the back-to-back set as part of the team’s injury management plan for his troublesome right knee that kept him out for seven straight games in November. Miami has not played Butler in both games of any December back-to-back.
Butler did not travel with the team to Salt Lake City following Friday’s loss in Denver, instead heading straight to Los Angeles to have his right knee checked. Butler was set to have his knee evaluated by a doctor in Los Angeles on Saturday in hopes of getting final clearance to take part in back-to-backs moving forward.
The Heat’s next back-to-back set is not until Feb. 10-11.
The Heat will meet Butler in Los Angeles following Saturday’s game against the Jazz. Miami will take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday and Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.
Also ruled out by the Heat for Saturday’s game against the Jazz were Dewayne Dedmon (health and safety protocols), Nikola Jovic (G League), Caleb Martin (left quadricps strain) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery).
WHAT HAPPENED TO HEAT’S DEFENSE?
The Heat’s defense, which entered Saturday as a top-10 unit in the NBA this season, struggled to stop the Nuggets’ high-powered offense in Friday’s loss.
Denver shot an ultra-efficient 59.2 percent from the field and 17 of 28 (60.7 percent) from three-point range in the victory, and exploded in the fourth quarter for 39 points on 13-of-16 shooting from the field, 5-of-5 shooting on threes and 8-of-10 shooting from the foul line. The Nuggets entered Saturday with the NBA’s second-best offensive rating this season.
The Heat led by eight points with 9:09 to play, but the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter offensive success was enough to complete the comeback.
“Got to watch the film and figure it out,” center Bam Adebayo said when asked about the Heat’s defensive struggles in Denver. “The thing about it, we don’t want to be mediocre. We don’t want to be in the middle of the pack. So it’s on us to get on the film and review what went wrong.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2022 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Duncan Robinson reacts to becoming Heat’s new three-point leader. Also, a Jimmy Butler update."
