Duncan Robinson strengthens case to be a permanent starter in Heat's win vs Pistons

Despite having a far superior record, the Miami Heat found themselves in a tight contest Tuesday night against the Detroit Pistons.

Miami's biggest lead was 11 points, and in every instance where the Heat looked to break the game open, Detroit responded with a run to make it a single-digit game. But behind a strong outing from Duncan Robinson and a Jimmy Butler takeover in the fourth quarter, the Miami Heat avoided a trap game and defeated the Pistons 118-110 at the Kaseya Center.

When the Miami Heat have called on him, Duncan Robinson has stepped in and continued to show why he belongs in the starting five.

The Heat don't skip a beat with Duncan Robinson in the starting lineup, and now have an 18-6 record with Robinson as a starter. Many have highlighted Robinson's improvement when it comes to making more plays with the ball in his hands, and early in the first quarter, Robinson had one of his flashiest moments of the season, putting a move on promising rookie Ausar Thompson and finishing with a layup.

Robinson had a moment earlier in the season on the baseline against rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, freezing him with a hesitation move and then finishing at the rim. If there is another instance with a rookie on Robinson near the baseline, you can almost guarantee Robinson will get in his bag of tricks and score with style.

Robinson also had two impressive defensive possessions in the first quarter when he forced Cade Cunningham baseline and into a bad pass, resulting in a Nikola Jovic steal and 3. A few possessions later, Robinson contested Jaden Ivey's jump shot and came up with a block. Robinson then drew a foul on Jalen Duren as he attempted a layup and made both free throws.

There were also instances when Robinson provided the Heat breathing room from Detroit in the third and fourth quarters. Up three, Robinson hit a moving corner 3 off the inbound pass from Terry Rozier. And on the next Pistons possession, Robinson came up with a steal, pushed the ball on the break, and found Bam Adebayo on a lob to push the Heat's lead to eight and force Detroit to call a timeout.

And late in the fourth quarter before Butler closed the deal, with the two-minute mark approaching, Robinson hit a huge transition 3 off a steal to push Miami's lead to six.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has made it known that the offense is better with Duncan Robinson on the court. With the results being mostly positive whenever Robinson starts, Spoelstra has to do the right thing and make Robinson a permanent starter going forward.