Heat’s Duncan Robinson ‘rolling with the punches,’ staying ready for playoff opportunities
Duncan Robinson’s role and minutes have fluctuated throughout the season. He’s been out of the Miami Heat’s rotation at times and he’s also been relied on to play important minutes during stretches.
But no matter what, Robinson has remained ready.
That was on display in the Heat’s win over the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on Friday at TD Garden, when he finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from three-point range in 21 productive minutes off the bench after playing just seven minutes in Game 1 of the best-of-7 series. Robinson scored eight points while playing 8:27 in Friday’s fourth quarter.
“I’ve seen it all in terms of roles and opportunities and everything,” Robinson said ahead of Game 3 on Sunday night at Kaseya Center. “I think it just definitely gives you experience just rolling with the punches and just being ready. Obviously this time of year, it just simplifies everything because it’s all about winning so you don’t really have to get in your own way. When you do get an opportunity, it’s just about giving into the team and making the most of it.”
As usual, most of Robinson’s shots in Game 2 came from beyond the arc. After all, he has shot 40 percent from three-point range in his NBA career.
But Robinson also mixed in a few strong cuts to the basket as a counter to the Celtics’ defensive game plan to keep him off the three-point line. With Boston overplaying Robinson around the arc, he scored six points on three layups — all assisted by Heat center Bam Adebayo — on cuts into the paint in Game 2.
“If they’re going to be so aggressive on the top side to take stuff away, you got to try to make them pay and be just be a little bit more difficult to guard than just kind of conceding to the coverage,” said Robinson, who is in the second season of a five-year, $90 million contract he signed with the Heat in the 2021 offseason. “In that sense, it’s definitely something we’ve been working on for a while, just the connection with Bam and him being willing to make that pass.”
When asked about Robinson finding different ways to diversify his shot profile, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra attributed that to “two years of development.”
“The scouting report was to do anything and everything to get him off that three-point line,” Spoelstra said. “So he’s been working on that diligently for two offseasons, regular seasons, really working on his off-ball movement, more actions to the rim. You saw the back cut. And putting the ball on the floor, I can’t even mention how many drives he’s worked on during the offseason over and over and over, and then still doing his normal shooting routine because that’s what creates the overreactions. But that’s a credit to his commitment to player development.”
THE FOURTH-QUARTER PLAN
The Heat entered Game 3 of the East finals with the NBA’s top fourth-quarter net rating in this year’s playoffs, outscoring opponents by a dominant 20.1 points per 100 possessions in the final period.
The Heat’s defense is a big reason for that late-game success, limiting opponents to just 97.7 points per 100 possessions in the fourth quarter during the playoffs. For perspective, the Cleveland Cavaliers posted the league’s best fourth-quarter defensive rating this regular season with 106.2 points allowed per 100 possessions.
Jimmy Butler has also been a catalyst behind the Heat’s eye-opening fourth-quarter numbers. Among those still alive this postseason, Butler is averaging an NBA-high 8.7 points per fourth quarter on 50 percent shooting from the field in this year’s playoffs.
“I think our game plan is kind of simple in the fourth quarter, if I’m being brutally honest,” Butler said. “It’s kind of like give me the ball and move, and I’m tasked with making the right play. Sometimes I shoot the ball. Most of the times I shoot the ball. A lot of times it’s a pass to the open guy. I pride myself on finding that open guy, I really do.”
NO FOUL
With the Heat ahead by five points and just 49.3 seconds to play in Game 2 on Friday, Heat guard Gabe Vincent was called for what could have been a costly foul that sent Celtics star Jayson Tatum to the foul line for three shots.
Tatum made all three free throws to cut the deficit to two, but the Heat still ended up hanging on for a six-point win on Friday.
However, the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report issued Saturday said that Vincent shouldn’t have been called for that foul, ruling that “Tatum overtly and unnaturally extends his right leg into Vincent to create the marginal contact during his jump shot attempt.”
“I think that was my first game, I just told Jimmy [Butler] about 10 minutes ago, where I haven’t fouled the whole game,” said Vincent, whose only foul in Game 2 was the late-game one on Tatum that the NBA ruled shouldn’t have been called. “So I’m proud of it. I don’t care what they say. I’m glad it wasn’t a foul. They came out and said it. I’m proud of it.”
Vincent has actually finished 10 games this season without a foul.
INJURY REPORT
The Heat remains without Tyler Herro (right hand surgery) and Victor Oladipo (left knee surgery) for Game 3 on Sunday.
There are no Celtics rotation players on the injury report.
This story was originally published May 21, 2023 at 12:00 PM.
