Time To Worry About Duncan Robinson?

Getty Images

Listen, I am not going to overreact to the slow shooting start for Duncan Robinson. In his three NBA seasons since the Heat signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan, he has proven to be an elite shooter who commands the attention of defenses and allows stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo to operate in more advantageous situations.

However, I can understand the concerns of some Heat fans. Robinson received a 5-year deal worth $90 million this past offseason and his value is predicated on his ability to shoot the three-ball at an elite clip.

In Wednesday’s loss against the Lakers, it was worrisome to see how much of a liability he was on the court. Not only did Robinson have a horrible shooting night (4-for-16 from the field, 3-for-12 from three-point range), but he was also the target of the Lakers’ offensive attack in crunch time due to his deficiencies on the defensive end. 

Robinson followed this performance with another bad game against the Clippers last night in which he only scored 6 points. He shot just 2-for-13 from the field (2-for-11 from distance), including 0-for-5 from the field in the fourth quarter. 

For the season, Robinson has shot just 32% from the field and a subpar 31% from three-point range, both of which are sharp declines from his career 44/41 shooting splits.

Despite his struggles, Robinson is unlikely to be removed from the starting lineup because Tyler Herro’s shot-creation and abilities as a playmaker are too valuable to a bench unit that is devoid of depth past Herro, Max Strus, and Dewayne Dedmon.

Fortunately for the Heat, Robinson’s struggles are not an anomaly as three-point accuracy is down across the league…well unless their last name is Curry, but their shooting prowess is on a different stratosphere from everyone else.

Robinson’s struggles have become a situation to monitor, but unless his inaccuracy from deep continues as we get further into the season, I believe that Robinson has a strong enough track record to warrant the benefit of the doubt for now.