There should be concern surrounding Duncan Robinson’s cole start to the season for the Miami Heat.
When the Miami Heat inked Duncan Robinson to a five-year, $90 million deal, there were many that winced at the numbers. However, considering that for the previous two seasons he had been considered one of the NBA’s best pure shooters, it was a fair deal to make.
Miami re-signing one of the biggest off-ball weapons in the NBA was something that had become a priority for the team ahead of the offseason. After opening the free agency period by acquiring Kyle Lowry, bringing back Robinson seemed like a natural next step. And it was.
Nevertheless, through the first eight games of the season for the Heat, Robinson has been everything but one of the best shooters in the NBA. In fact, he’s been a below-average one.
So far this season, Robinson has taken a big step back in his offensive efficiency and has somewhat become a negative player for the Heat overall. He has the worst plus/minus of any of the starting 5 and is shooting career lows from both the field and 3-point range.
Robinson is shooting just 36 percent shooting from the field and 33 percent from deep on nearly nine attempts per game. He’s shooting the most 3-point attempts that he’s shot in his career thus far and at a much-worse percentage. Specifically, there have only been two games this season that he’s shot above 40 percent from 3 (when taking at least four 3-pointers).
After signing that big contract during the offseason, to say that he hasn’t lived up to it would be a massive understatement. Quite frankly, it’s a great sign that the Heat have been still winning games – and in a somewhat dominant fashion – without Robinson particularly contributing a ton.
I’m not sure that’s something that could’ve been possible just last season. However, if the Heat is going to be the championship contender that they envisioned themselves being this season, they’re going to need Robinson to eventually snap out of this cold streak.
The additions of Lowry, the growth of Bam Adebayo, the freedom of Jimmy Butler, and the strides that Tyler Herro has made have helped make up for the struggles of Robinson to start the season. And the team and his teammates are going to continue to say all the right things.
Keep shooting, Duncan.
We want Duncan to be a shooter.
We know Duncan is one of the best shooters in the league.
You know, all that good stuff. However, the more that Robinson continues to struggle with his shot, the more that concern is going to revolve around his standing for the Heat. At a certain point, if Robinson can’t shake out of this cold streak, a decision is going to have to be made regarding his starting position.
I’m not sure if the Heat will be able to manage to keep Herro on the bench if he’s averaging 20 points per game on high efficiency if Robinson continues to struggle. That’s likely a conversation that is already taking place inside the front office.
But, obviously, something that the team doesn’t have to worry about right now.
For now, the Heat shouldn’t panic. They should continue to trust who Robinson has been over the last two years and not the player that he’s been in the first eight games of this season. But if the current trend doesn’t change over the next few weeks, that trust is going to begin to transform into concern. And that’s when a true conversation can be had.