Duncan Robinson reemerges in exhibtion opener for Miami Heat
One of the best feelgood stories from the 2019-20 NBA regular season revolved around Duncan Robinson of the Miami Heat. After spending much of his time in the G League last season, Robinson was getting his shot at proving his worth as an NBA player this season.
Not long after the start of the season, Robinson was starting for the Heat. He would end up starting 60 of the 65 games he played in before the NBA’s hiatus. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Robinson’s shooting had to be.
In 30 minutes per contest, Robinson was averaging 13 points and three rebounds on 47 percent shooting from the field and 45 percent shooting from 3-point range (on eight attempts per game). Not only had Duncan Robinson emerged as a valuable rotation player for the Heat, but was quickly cementing himself as one of the best shooters in the league.
Among many questions for the Heat heading into the NBA’s restart bubble, one revolved around how Duncan Robinson would look when the season would resume. His shooting was of imperative value for the Heat during the regular season, and this offense isn’t the same when he isn’t on the floor.
Interestingly enough, when the Heat opened exhibition play against the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night, Robinson made it pretty clear that he was picking up where the season left off.
In the Heat’s exhibition victory over the Kings, Robinson hit his first two 3-pointers en route to an 18-point night. He finished 5-8 from 3-point range in 21 minutes of action.
As Miami continues to prepare for the restart, which will begin July 30 with teams playing eight seeding games before the playoffs, it’s good to see Duncan Robinson somewhat pick up where he left off when the season was stopped.
If the Heat are going to enjoy a deep playoff run in the Eastern Conference, they’re going to need Duncan Robinson playing at a high level. There’s still plenty of work that needs to be done in preparation for the team but if their first exhibtion game was an indication of things to come, it should be an interesting next few weeks for the Miami Heat.