Heat’s Duncan Robinson on how opponents are defending him differently, trade rumors and more
Miami Heat forward Duncan Robinson is not only one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA. He’s also now the host of his own podcast.
The first episode of Robinson’s show, “The Long Shot,” is being released this week under the umbrella of the podcast company founded by New Orleans Pelicans guard JJ Redick named ThreeFourTwo Productions and Cadence13.
The description of Robinson’s new podcast reads: “Celebrating success that is unexpected as well as highlighting sports and human-interest stories are both at the foundation of The Long Shot. Told through the lens of NBA player Duncan Robinson and his co-host Davis Reid, the program will provide an inside look into the NBA season while showcasing stories of those that have overcome the odds and achieved success.”
To help promote the launch of his new podcast, Robinson participated in a Reddit question-and-answer sessions on Monday morning as the Heat waited in Boston for further clarity from the NBA on how to proceed after Sunday’s game against the Boston Celtics was postponed because of COVID-19 issues.
The results of the league’s contact-tracing investigation and ongoing testing will determine whether the Heat will have enough players cleared to play its next game Tuesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The NBA requires teams to have eight available players to proceed with games.
“Definitely been a unique start to the year,” Robinson wrote as one of his many answers on Reddit. “Been different challenges with all the protocols and new norms. I think the general sentiment is that everyone wants to play but also everyone wants to be safe first. The league is obviously doing everything they can to ensure both.”
In the eight games the Heat (4-4) has been able to play this season, Robinson, 26, has averaged 11.3 points while shooting 39.1 percent from three-point range. He’s averaging 3.1 made threes per game on eight attempts.
It’s still very early, but Robinson’s numbers are a bit down from the historically good shooting season he had when he shot 44.6 percent from three-point range last season. He averaged 3.7 made threes per game on 8.3 attempts, and joined Golden State’s Stephen Curry as the only two players in league history to finish a season with 270 or more made threes while shooting better than 44 percent from deep.
“I don’t really get the open looks that I got particularly at the beginning of last year,” Robinson said during a recent appearance on Redick’s podcast with Tommy Alter named “The Old Man & the Three.” The episode was released Monday.
“I go back and watch some of the tape from last year at the start of the season, and Jimmy [Butler] or Bam [Adebayo] or Goran [Dragic] or somebody would drive and my defender would just get in the gap or pull or pull into the paint,” Robinson said. “Now that just doesn’t happen anymore. So from a basketball standpoint, it just requires me to get a lot more creative, watch a lot of JJ Redick film and figure out a way to get open.”
What has been the biggest adjustment opponents have made in defending Robinson (6-7, 215 pounds) since the start of last season?
“I think the biggest adjustment particularly in the playoffs and this year that I’ve noticed is the physicality,” Robinson said on Redick’s podcast. “I think that teams have noticed that maybe they’ve had success or other teams have had success in just getting like really into my body, particularly when I like to come off those handoffs.
“I think there are guys, and I’m not going to be too specific because I don’t want to give away like who I think guards me the best or whatever just because then you have people looking at film or extrapolating whatever. But I think when people get really physical and try to blow up handoffs, blow up screens and just use strength. For me, if I’m able to come off, I don’t really view it as good defense because I still think I’m able to get to my shot. That’s an advantage I have because I’m tall and have a higher release point.”
As far as hearing his name in trade rumors before the start of this season, that was a relatively new experience for Robinson.
Heat guard Tyler Herro and Robinson were two names that were often mentioned in media reports last month regarding a potential trade package to land disgruntled Houston Rockets superstar guard James Harden. But a league source told the Miami Herald on the eve of the 2020-21 NBA season that the Heat was no longer actively pursuing a trade with the Rockets for Harden.
“The one thing that has been kind of dangerous about the trade rumors is that my mom, who struggles with technology in general,” Robinson said on Redick’s podcast. “I love her, obviously. But she has some Heat app, I don’t even know how she has it. I don’t even know what app it is. It’s like not an official app. It’s like some blog or whatever and she just gets all the updates pinged right to her phone and occasionally it will boil over. She’s like, ‘No, I’m not going to talk to Duncan about this. I’m not going to do it, I’m not going to do it.’ Then all of a sudden, it’s like it has gone too far and there’s like some ‘reliable’ source who says that I’m in the mix and then she calls me and is like, ‘Are you seeing this? Is everything OK? Do I need to do anything?’ I’m like, ‘Just don’t listen. If you hear anything, hear it from me.’
“It’s a real challenge. This is something that Tyler and I talked about, too. There was definitely a stretch particularly in training camp where it was just like you couldn’t pick up your phone without it being on there in some capacity. It’s definitely a challenge.”
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 12:51 PM.
