If you’ve tamed the Heat’s streak against the Sixers, something couldn’t have escaped your notice. But where the hell did Duncan Robinson go? Abandoned in favor of Victor Oladipo and Max Strus, the freshest puff in Florida was relegated to the bottom of the bench by Erik Spoelstra. Debrief.
19 minutes. The duration to go for a little errand at the corner grocery store, but also Duncan Robinson’s playing time over the entire series against the Sixers. It stings very hard. He was until the end of the first round against the Hawks, an important element in the Heat’s offensive creation. Moreover, he had planted eight shots from afar in the first game, which logically satisfied Erik Spoelstra. But the return of Vivic Oladipo and the rise of Max Strus put a hell of a lead in the undrafted wing. Far from having the efficiency of the Spurs racquet in 1999, we are still talking about a guy capable of lighting up from afar frequently and scoring points with a lot of impact on the game. In addition, the guy is subject to a contract of 90 million over five years. At that price, the least you can do is try to make it profitable. And in basketball – as in any other team sport – immediately deprive a player of almost all of their playing time, and hello damage. Suddenly limited to crumbs, it becomes impossible to find your rhythm. And it’s not as if the shoot was above all a story of rhythm: 4 points in 19 minutes, and in 4 shots too. We are talking about a lieutenant degraded to the rank of young rookie, the one to whom we make a gift when we give him two minutes at the end of February. Do you find that a shame? U.S. too.
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Duncan Robinson: 27 points on 8 of 9 from 3 (9 of 10 overall). What a performance in Game 1.@MiamiHEAT | #HEATCulture | #WhiteHot ⚪???? pic.twitter.com/SvSvDJMRHx
— Bally Sports Sun: HEAT (@BallyHEAT) April 17, 2022
It is, however, the law of sport. As we know, in the Playoffs, the rotations are often tightened precisely to favor the rhythm and not to cool the important elements of the group, from one match to another. And what has been the strength of the Heat since the start of the Playoffs is the big defense that South Beach offers. It must be recognized that in this little game, Max Strus like Victor Oladipo are much more effective than Duncan Robinson. Jimmy Neutron’s defense may be more than enough from October to April, but stuffing Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in May isn’t the same thing. And the constant in a Playoffs match is not to leave an inch of space to the opponent. Uncomfortable with all that, Rob’ is a bit on a desert island at the moment. We always talk about Duncan Robinson, not Robinson Crusoe. We talk as if this situation were irreversible, but that is not the case either. In big trouble against the Sixers at the offshore address, the Heat staff is depriving themselves of a good long-distance gunner in the person of DR. The team is shooting 29.4% from afar over the last six games, it stings a bit. Not sure that’s enough against the Celtics. We’re not talking about playing Dun’ 25 minutes, but more about giving him just the time he needs to find his bearings and do his job, namely sending strings when he’s on the field. In short, you will have understood that the situation of the guy is not the most pleasant to live in, but it is also in these moments that a winning character is forged.
Being a rather average defender in a team that has made defense its main principle of play is not ideal. To remedy all this? Work, work and more work, until regaining the trust of the Spo’.
Source : ESPN
