Erik Spoelstra Sounds off on Miami Heat’s ‘Improved’ $90 Million Man

Getty Duncan Robinson (left) and Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat

If you have watched the Miami Heat over the last three seasons or so, you’ve surely noticed a remarkable trend for wing Duncan Robinson. After getting a $90 million (over five years) payday in free agency from the Heat three years ago, Robinson seemed to regress in the years that followed. His defense, which was never much to begin with, got worse. His shooting—his lone asset for coach Erik Spoelstra—quite suddenly left him, too.

By last season, Spoelstra had little use for Robinson and it showed. He played only 16.5 minutes per game, and appeared in only 42 games. At some point in last year’s playoffs, with Tyler Herro out, Robinson got back on the floor. And he began looking more like the guy to whom the Heat paid that big contract—he averaged 9.0 points and shot 44.2% from the 3-point line, and was solid enough defensively to warrant staying on the floor.

Robinson has carried that over. That was on full displayed when he scored 27 points on Friday in the Heat win over Atlanta, in an incredibly efficient night: Robinson shot 8-for-11 from the field and 4-for-7 from the 3-point line, also making all seven of his free throws.

Robinson did nearly all that damage in a critical fourth quarter (21 points).

“It shows how much he has improved all across the board,” Spoelstra said.

Duncan Robinson Shooting 44.7% on 3s

Overall, the numbers on Duncan Robinson this year have reflected that improvement. He is averaging 15.0 points on 49.7% shooting and 44.7% shooting from the 3-point line. That is a world of difference from the 6.4 points, 37.1% shooting and 32.8% shooting from the 3-point line that he showed last year.

But the number that probably best reflects how much better Robinson has been for the Miami Heat this year is this: 234. That is how many minutes Erik Spoelstra has had Robinson on the floor in the fourth quarter this year, through 28 games. Last year, Spo played Robinson a grand total of 214 fourth-quarter minutes.

Robinson has played better defense, and done better off-ball work.

“He had a tough cover in (Bogdan) Bogdanovic, they are an explosive offensive team, they run a lot of different things full speed,” Spoelstra said. “He was able to be in the right spots, even had that track-down rebound in front of the bench. And then, offensively, hitting on every part of the development and different parts of the menu that were so needed during that fourth quarter. He had a couple of on-the-move classic dribble hand-offs, a couple where he was the screener. He basically called that action where he screened and slipped to the rim.”

Erik Spoelstra Has Options for Miami Heat

Robinson has made cutting to the rim and getting into the paint more of a focal point this season. His seven free throws were a season high, and he is attempting 17.5% of his shots from within three feet of the rim, per Basketball-Reference.com, more than twice his career average (8.4%).

“It’s definitely been an area of focus in terms of growth. Just trying to be multifaceted, not be too one-dimensional as a player. Just put pressure on the defense in more ways than one,” Robinson said.

In addition to Robinson, the Miami Heat got its usual brilliance from Tyler Herro (30 points) and Bam Adebayo (18 points, 11 rebounds). It was another plus game for rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr., too, who had 19. Robinson said that one key for the Heat is the options they have for attacking defenses.

“We got a lot of guys that can step up and make plays,” Robinson said. “Just the way this team is built, it is gonna be different people on different nights so, tonight, Tyler really had it going and I was able to kinda help keep the offense going in the second half. Come Christmas, it might be somebody else, probably will be. Just try to celebrate whoever when it is their night, and have fun with it.”