The Miami Heat may have given up on Duncan Robinson way too soon. That's because, if there's one thing the Heat has quickly realized throughout the preseason, it's that they may not have nearly enough 3-point shooting on the roster.
Parting ways with one of, if not the, best 3-point shooters in team history won't bode well for the Heat this season, especially considering they didn't do much to proactively replace him this offseason.
Even though Robinson is not exactly lighting it up during his preseason stint with the Detroit Pistons, the Heat knows exactly the type of threat that he can be from deep. Without a similar type of shooter on their roster, it remains to be seen how Miami is going to replicate that level of threat in their offense.
Unless players like Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. take a huge leap in their 3-point shooting development this season, Miami is simply not going to have enough shooting on the floor in most lineups.
Mind you, that's even with a healthy Tyler Herro back. Without Herro, it's going to get that much more difficult for the Heat to operate in a well-balanced offense.
The Heat's hurdles on the offensive end of the floor
Last season, the Heat finished the year ranked in the bottom 10 of the league in offensive rating. Mind you, that was while being an above-average 3-point shooting team. The Heat ranked 12th in the league in 3-point shooting. However, that could change without Robinson, who shot 39 percent from deep for Miami last season.
And if their performance in the preseason is any indication, the Heat is going to have a large uphill journey to get their offense where Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra wants it to be.
Even though there are signs that the Heat's offense is undergoing a schematic makeover, thanks to operating at a much quicker pace, the results have still been too erratic for fans to have much confidence in it.
During preseason, the Heat has the second-worst-ranked offensive rating in the league, and has struggled mightily to create a well-balanced offense more often than not. In fairness to the Heat, they've been extremely banged up throughout the last few weeks and have not had their full rotation on showcase.
Still, it's extremely alarming with the start of the regular season just a few days away.
The loss of Robinson isn't single-handedly going to tank the Heat's offense this season, but losing that consistent threat from 3-point range is absolutely going to have an impact this year. The question is, how debilitating will it prove to be to the offense?
If it does hurt the team mightily, the Heat are naturally going to second-guess the decision to part ways with Robinson in free agency.