Heat’s Orlando Robinson has a weekend to remember. And Butler out, Martin doubtful
This turned into a memorable weekend for Miami Heat second-year center Orlando Robinson.
It started Friday night in the G League, when Robinson totaled 41 points on 14-of-22 shooting from the field, 3-of-5 shooting on threes and 7-of-7 shooting from the foul line, 13 rebounds and two blocks to lead the Sioux Falls Skyforce to a 121-116 win in Birmingham, Ala., over the G League affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans.
It continued Sunday when Robinson, 23, had his full $1.8 million salary for this season become guaranteed. That’s because all non-guaranteed/partially guaranteed standard contracts around the NBA became guaranteed on Sunday at 5 p.m.
The Heat did not release Robinson before that deadline, leaving him with a fully guaranteed $1.8 million salary for this season and a non-guaranteed $2.1 million salary for next season. While the actual date for NBA contracts to become guaranteed for the season is Wednesday, players needed to be waived by Sunday at 5 p.m. to have enough time for them to clear waivers prior to Wednesday.
“It’s another step in the right direction,” Robinson said of surviving Sunday’s guarantee date. “Honestly, I don’t pay attention to that much. I just try to focus on ways I can help the team win and stuff like that. But it’s nice, don’t get me wrong. It’s very nice. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”
With the Heat (20-15) set to open a four-game homestand on Monday against the Houston Rockets (18-16) at Kaseya Center (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports Sun), Robinson returned to the Heat from the G League following Friday’s big performance.
Robinson has spent his second NBA season jumping between the G League and NBA, as he logged double-digit minutes for seven straight games in December with the Heat while filling in for then-injured starting center Bam Adebayo.
There were encouraging moments and others that Robinson has to learn from during that stretch of consistent playing time for the Heat. Robinson averaged 7.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and two assists in 20.4 minutes per game while shooting 51.3 percent from the field and 5 of 10 (50 percent) from three-point range while starting each of the seven games during this recent stint as Adebayo’s fill-in.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve come into my role on that team,” Robinson said when asked what he learned from that seven-game stretch with the Heat, “with how much more I need to impact the defensive end and how much more I need to impact rebounding, in general, offensive and defensive.
“I would also say just like the more reps that I get with those players like Tyler [Herro], Duncan [Robinson], Jimmy [Butler], Kyle [Lowry], the more reps I get with them in pick-and-roll situations, wides, pindowns, anything like that, the more comfortable I feel playing with them and the more I can impact the game by helping them get the shots because they’re such great shooters and playmakers. So just understanding that more, I think that’s where I’ve come to grow because it’s all about reps, really.”
Robinson (6-foot-10, 235 pounds) said his focus during player development work is on improving as a rebounder and defender because those “are two things that you can control.”
“I’m just honing in on those two things and really trying to be intentional,” said Robinson, who went undrafted out of Fresno State last year. “So when I come into the game, the game shifts in a positive way, whether it be on both the defensive end and rebounding. I’m limiting their possessions and creating more possessions for us and limiting the possessions where they can score. I feel like if I can come in and do that, that would be very good for me and the team.”
With Adebayo back on the court after recovering from a hip contusion and Kevin Love establishing himself as the backup center, Robinson has logged just five minutes of playing time with the Heat in the past nine games. The G League is a way to give Robinson extended playing time when Adebayo and Love are healthy and available.
“It just keeps me active,” Robinson said of the G League. “It doesn’t keep my idle on the bench. I’m watching these things, I’m learning. But also, I am a professional basketball player, so I still got to get reps and stay sharp and stay physical. As a big, I feel like if you sit out too long, you kind of forget how much strength you need to box out people.”
While Robinson’s role with the Heat and Skyforce are different, he noted his goal is “basically just dominating in the role that you have.”
That’s exactly what Robinson has done in the G League, averaging 24.3 points, 13.2 rebounds, 2,5 assists, 1.3 steals and three blocks per game in six games with the Skyforce this season.
“I think the more important thing is every time Orlando goes down there, it feels like we win,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I think right now in two years, his record is roughly 22-3 or four. That’s what matters to us, he impacts winning. People will say, it’s the G League. That’s the whole point, impact winning. When you go on assignment, you can affect that and he takes it very seriously. That’s why we really like him as a prospect because he prioritizes that and then everything else he’s getting better at, he works at, he drills ad nauseam.”
Robinson holds an impressive 19-6 record in the G League during his two-year NBA career. He’s 13-2 in his last 15 appearances.
“They always tell me to come down here and win some games,” Robinson said of the feedback he’s received from the Heat’s coaching staff when heading to the G League. “They just say, ‘Go down there and win.’ They let me know that they see what I’m doing. So that’s just reassurance that what I do down here matters.”
▪ While Robinson was the only player on the Heat’s standard roster without a full guaranteed contract, there are other important January dates to know.
This past Friday, teams were allowed to begin signing players to 10-day contracts.
Two-way contracts were also subject to Sunday’s waiver deadline. If not waived by Sunday at 5 p.m., two-way contract salaries will become fully guaranteed on Wednesday. With Jamal Cain, RJ Hampton and Cole Swider still on the Heat’s roster past the deadline, their two-way contracts will now be guaranteed for the full season.
INJURY UPDATE
Jimmy Butler (foot) was ruled out for Monday’s game against the Rockets at Kaseya Center; this will be the fourth consecutive game that he will miss. There’s cautious optimism that Butler will return during this four-game homestand that begins Monday.
Caleb Martin (ankle) was listed as doubtful. The Heat ruled out Swider (G League) and Dru Smith (season-ending knee surgery).
Haywood Highsmith, who has missed the past three games, is out of concussion protocol and is expected to be available for Monday’s game. He’s no longer on the injury report.
This story was originally published January 7, 2024 at 10:43 AM.
