The Miami Heat have been a three-point shooting team all year long, led by Duncan Robinson. Cooled in the playoffs, is Tuesday the night for an explosion?
The Miami Heat are back in the series. With a win on Sunday night, they find themselves only down 2-1 in the NBA Finals.
If the Lakers had of been able to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series, it would have been an extremely uphill battle for the Heat with the series likely being all but over. That is no more though, as Jimmy Butler had something to say about it.
When looking at the Miami Heat as a whole though through both of their Finals series so far, the conference and through three games in the NBA championship, they haven’t been their normal selves when it comes to shooting the ball. Throughout the regular season and the bubble, they were not only among the best when it came to shooting from deep, but it was also a crucial part of what made them so explosive.
The Miami Heat need Duncan Robinson to erupt to give them their best shot at a title. I think he will in Game 4.
In the Conference Finals though, Boston and their slew of wing defenders found a way to contain Duncan Robinson. They have managed to do the same thing in the NBA Finals, the Lakers, that is.
In Game 3 though, we saw something that we haven’t ever seen before and that was an uber aggressive Duncan Robinson. He was hunting his shots.
That sparks a lightbulb. With Bam Adebayo looking to get back in Game 4 and with Duncan Robinson’s new-found aggression and/or shot hunting ways, that should provide for an eruption by the sniper.
Look, 80 percent or more of Duncan’s looks come off of the Bam Adebayo dribble handoff action, which had been slowed in the Boston series because Duncan wasn’t being aggressive enough, oftentimes passing up what are considered “open looks” in the NBA.
With Game 3’s mentality, likely something Coach Spo helped to instill, and the return of Bam Adebayo, Duncan should be primed to reemerge as the lethal shooter he has become known to be. That’s why I do believe that Tuesday night in Game 4, we should absolutely expect a Duncan Robinson outburst.