starter, closer, eastern conference champion [via Robinson's Instagram]

Duncan Robinson Can Delete His LinkedIn Comment Count

Ace September 28th, 2020 at 3:31 PM

"New Hampshire born/raised. Michigan Alum."

That's how the "about" section of Duncan Robinson's LinkedIn profile, a real thing that exists, begins. He eventually lists his current job status.

The full-time guard/forward for the Miami Heat since July 2018 added a significant accomplishment last night: starter and closer on an Eastern Conference Champion.

The details of how Robinson got here have been covered, well, everywhere at this point, and repeated every time he becomes the focus of an NBA game—which, these days, is a frequent occurrence. Duncan Robinson started out in Division III has become a more reliable broadcast staple than John Beilein has never been an assistant coach. Finish your drink if they mention Robinson came off the bench most of his senior year. You will finish your drink.

[Hit THE JUMP for some remarkably endearing texts, highlights from last night, and emoting.]

And yet, at least last night, this did not feel tiresome. While it's never fair to judge a player by a single game or even a single series or playoffs, game six between Miami and Boston felt like an inflection point in Robinson's young career. As he and his team flourished, I soaked in the game—and, yes, the rehashing of Robinson's path to the NBA—in a way I haven't allowed a sporting event to take over my emotions since the pandemic began.

Whether Robinson would start the game was never in question; he's started each of the Heat's 15 games this postseason. When I wrote about him heading into the playoffs, the focus was his historic shooting season, and that ability has made him an unquestioned starter. But the postseason, with its extra prep time and singular focus on one opponent, brings forth and ruthlessly exploits even small flaws in a player's game.

---------------

Robinson had been in a similar position at Michigan. His junior season ended with a regional final loss to Oregon in which the Ducks repeatedly isolated him on defense and took him to the basket for layups. He closed the game because Moe Wagner was having a brutal time with Jordan Bell; I don't need to watch it again to say with confidence he allowed more points than he scored.

Heading into his senior year, when many of his peers were figuring out how they'd use their last year to break into the NBA, he sought out advice from Mark Titus, the Ohio State walk-on-turned-writer/podcaster, on how to become... one of us.

While anyone who'd seen Robinson shoot a basketball knew he possessed a special talent, anyone who'd seen him play defense could also understand why he'd make plans for a different career path.

As a senior, he lost his starting job midway through the season to freshman Isaiah Livers, who wasn't on Robinson's level as a shooter but at least kept his man in front of him. Robinson was struggling to do that on a team that had otherwise turned into a defensive juggernaut under the guidance of assistant coach Luke Yaklich. Not an elite athlete to begin with, he also struggled with technique and instincts. This is not the footwork of a player you ever expect to see in the NBA.

He co-hosted The Dak and Dunc Show while helping Michigan make an improbable run to the NCAA final; after scoring zero points on three shots in the title game, then going undrafted, that Soundcloud page looked like an important piece of his resumé.

---------------

Despite his evident talent on the microphone, Duncan Robinson is not One Of Us. The Heat front office saw one of the purest shots on Earth and made a low-stakes bet they could turn this undrafted free agent into a rotation player. They'd already hit on that bet heading into last night's game; there was Robinson, starting in the East Finals not because of injury or opt-out or anything other than his ability to play basketball at the highest level.

He knocked down an early three-pointer while playing the entire first quarter, which Miami exited holding a 33-27 lead. He hit another in a shorter second-quarter stint, but Boston clawed back within two at the half.

The knots in my stomach cinched tighter the closer the game moved to the fourth quarter. While Robinson has worked his way into becoming a passable defender, and Erik Spoelstra is the perfect coach to scheme around a few flaws (his utilization of zone defense changed the course of this series), there are still times when he looks overmatched, and that's tended to keep him off the floor when Miami has to close out a big game.

Rookie guard Tyler Herro essentially stole Robinson's role in the previous series clincher, dropping 14 points and three triples against Milwaukee while his counterpart picked up four fouls in only 14 minutes on the court. Herro also played the, er, leading role in the pivotal game four of the Boston series, scoring 37 in a three-point win; Robinson had more fouls (four, again) than points (three).  When Robinson isn't on his defensive game, he fouls, and he committed at least four in all but one of the first five games against the Celtics. Goran Dragic, Jae Crowder, an old Andre Iguodala, and even Solomon Hill have played down the home stretch while Robinson sat.

The stomach knots seemed to burst aflame when the Celtics made an 8-0 late third-quarter run to get within two heading into the fourth. While the run occurred with Robinson on the bench, Boston had played Miami out of their zone defense. It was an open question whether Coach Spo would have enough trust in Robinson's defense to play him big fourth-quarter minutes in such a close game; it was an equally open question whether Robinson would reward that theoretical trust.

Robinson entered the game with 8:48 remaining and Boston leading 96-90. He would not exit.

First, he created a Herro three by drawing two defenders with a pump-and-drive. He reeled in a couple defensive rebounds as the game crept towards the five-minute mark; with Robinson helping spread the Celtics defense thin, Miami had roared back to take a two-point lead. Then, the first dagger.

Then, right on the heels of that shot, Robinson made one of the defensive plays of the game, rotating back to tip away an alley-oop against a disorganized-seeming Heat defense, a play Herro turned into instant points to give them a little breathing room.

Boston called a timeout. It didn't take. Miami scored seven straight out of the TO, and when Jaylen Brown stopped the run with a pair of free throws, Robinson responded with a veritable bang.

Consider the game closed.

By this point, I'm yelling at my television and pledging to buy an authentic Robinson Heat jersey with a champions patch if they find a way to beat LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers. That thought would've seemed farcical a couple months ago even if we kept the focus purely to basketball. And yet, here we are, four Miami wins away from it being reality. None of this was supposed to happen, so why not one more surprise?

It's been difficult to get into that full sports feeling since the post-pandemic restart. My local favorites didn't sniff the NBA or NHL playoffs. While my WNBA squad (Go Aces, surprise!) is thriving, it's not a large shared experience. I've disavowed the Lions. College football has been a surreal experience of watching games in front of largely empty stadiums (or disturbingly full ones) while trying to figure out if the margin can be explained by a position group being wiped out by coronavirus.

There may not have been fans in the NBA bubble last night, but there were plenty of Michigan fans hooting and hollering about the Heat's baby-faced assassin on Twitter, and then the stories from Titus and the like poured out. I'm ready for sports to hit me straight in the feels again.

Duncan Robinson can delete his LinkedIn profile if he wants. Any career he'll have in sports media is almost certainly a long way off and he won't need that page for people to know his resumé whenever the time comes. He can also leave it up, though, because it's the perfect testament to how unlikely this journey has been.

Comments

cbutter

September 28th, 2020 at 3:39 PM ^

Ironically, this Heat team feels a lot like Robinson's senior year where Michigan makes an incredible (maybe even improbable?) run, only to run into a juggernaut.

I hope I am wrong.

TrueBlue2003

September 28th, 2020 at 3:46 PM ^

I've heard them just say "Duncan Robinson went to division III Williams...and then finished his career at Michigan" as if to say he spent the majority of time at Williams and that his Michigan stint is a footnote.

Remarkable story, but they downplay the fact that he played ~30 min per tourney game for a national runner up.

Swayze Howell Sheen

September 28th, 2020 at 4:25 PM ^

Great write-up Ace. It was a beautiful sports moment.

I'm sad because they are running into the Lakers and will likely lose. It would be such a great story if otherwise. But, as I learned from Crimes and Misdemeanors, (#spoilers ahead) sometimes justice isn't served. The rabbi goes blind, the crook gets away with murder, and the wrong guy gets the girl. In this case, the "wrong" team is going to win the whole thing.

Lakers in 6.

 

matty blue

September 28th, 2020 at 8:03 PM ^

man, i don't know - the lakers have the two best players left, obviously...but the heat probably have the third through the...what?  seventh best?  with robinson and kyle kuzma being about even?  i'm just making that up as i go, but beyond davis and bron, the lakers don't really have anybody that scares you.  kentavious caldwell-pope sure ain't it.

spoelstra is fantastic, too.  i like their chances.

JMK

September 29th, 2020 at 12:17 PM ^

I don’t really enjoy watching these Lakers. They seem like less of a team than most of the other teams that made the playoffs. Seems like, eventually, the plan is just get the ball to AD or Bron and they’ll do something. It works, but it’s not super fun to watch. 

geewhiz99

September 29th, 2020 at 8:45 AM ^

I'm going with the Heat beating the Lakers. They have so many three point assassins - Robinson, Herro, Dragic and even Crowder/Butler when they are on. The Lakers lack that with their 3-point shooters (Kuzma, ?) streaky. The Heat's zone defense will also nullify the Laker's strengths and the difference will most likely be Anthony Davis making the mid-range shots.

Blueroller

September 28th, 2020 at 4:48 PM ^

Great job capturing the emotions I'm sure a lot of us were feeling. It was disconcerting to be really caring about a game. I've been loving these games in a nonpartisan way and there's been a lot of terrific basketball. This was something different, and I'm glad it's happening for its own sake and also to prepare for the return of stomach churning fandom on the 24th. Go Duncan! Go Heat!

AC1997

September 28th, 2020 at 5:13 PM ^

Thanks for posting Ace - good to celebrate something fun for a change these days.  Here are some of my thoughts as I embark upon my quest to cheer the Heat on to victory....

  • I've never been a big NBA guy since the Bad Boys era....and I've watched more NBA this year than ever before.  I like the bubble optics, I like how they've scheduled the games, most of the announcers are very good (Reggie Miller is still terrible), and there have been enough Michigan players to catch my interest.  
  • One of my complaints about the NBA is the style of basketball.  It isn't all hero-ball anymore (though I loathe every final possession of a quarter still) but it is now all ball-screen until you get a goofy match-up to exploit.  But the Heat don't play that way.  I'm very impressed with their coaching and fascinated at their off-ball movement like a Purdue offense and zone defenses like they're a mid-level college team.  
  • I watched the second half last night and thought Robinson was having another mediocre game despite the late heroics.  Then you check the box score and see he was a ho-hum 5-for-7 from three.  Dude is just money from outside even against the best in the world.
  • I wish his time at Michigan would get played up a little more - plane crash, defense, etc.  than just focusing on his D3 story line.
  • Who would have thought Spolstra - the no name coach the Heat hired when LeBron was there - would become one of the best NBA coaches in the league.  Makes me more and more confident in Juwan also.  

Michigan4Life

September 28th, 2020 at 11:43 PM ^

The Heat does try to hunt mis-matches but the reason you don't see it is Boston has strong defenders across the board in Tatum, Smart, Brown, Hayward, etc. Boston was the #1 defensive team in the league.  If you watched the previous series, it was Jimmy Butler who hunted for the mis-match against the Bucks or Bam Adebayo having to face almost any Bucks players on him. The Heat had to play zone defense at times because Herro, Dragic and Robinson aren't great defenders so Spo had to figure out a way to hide them on defense.

matty blue

September 28th, 2020 at 7:58 PM ^

when i saw duncan robinson was getting minutes last season all i could think of was matt maloney, who (bizarrely, in my opinion) started every game as a 25-year-old rookie for one of rudy t's rockets teams...he may have even been on one of the rockets' title teams?

anyway, duncan is decidedly not that.  when his stroke is on, he's one of those guys for whom the net doesn't move when he drains a three.  that shot is PURE.

yet another testament to beilein as a talent evaluator and maximizer.  i love juwan, but man, i miss that guy.

Davy Found

September 29th, 2020 at 2:52 AM ^

Interesting post, and cool that you mention Matt Maloney. I had a long, wonderful talk with Rudy T. on an L.A. to Detroit flight a few years back. One of the longest, coolest conversations I've ever had with a stranger on a plane. Along with talking about life stuff, we did chat hoops a bit. He told me that Maloney was his favorite player he ever coached. There are only so many shots to hoist up in a game, he said, but there are small decisions to be made in every moment, many hundreds in a game. He said Maloney was the best decision-maker he'd even seen on a court, and also had special leadership qualities. Wasn't an elite athlete, shooter, or defender, and I'm not sure he even had classic gym rat or all-hustle tendencies... he just always knew where to be, and who to get the ball to. On a team with several great skill players, his talents were a great fit. They won 2 'ships. I think Duncan is a different kind of player, with elite talent in one area, but I see where you were coming from. I am LOVING the Heat's run and Duncan's great season! I really hope the Dunc & Dak Podcast comes back; this time they can interview other NBA stars, and could focus on UM alums and former teammates. That was one of the most entertaining podcasts I've ever heard. So much fun. Wasn't it Dak who had never heard of Bruce Springsteen? 

matty blue

September 29th, 2020 at 10:19 AM ^

that podcast was great, really delightful.

i take back my "bizarrely" comment re: maloney...i didn't think that at the time, but it was impossible not to notice him starting alongside clyde drexler, and akeem, and charles barkley (turns out he came around 2 years after their nba title).  one of these things is not like the other, right?  mike griffin, same thing...there's always a value in doing everything the right way.

but none of that matters.  you got to talk to the REAL rudy for a few hours.  nice.  

njsteve

September 29th, 2020 at 1:58 PM ^

I can't think of Matt Maloney without remembering his Penn team coming into Crisler for an early-season game in December 1994, with Michigan coming off the departure of Howard and Rose. Penn went out to a 25-4 lead, largely off Maloney's shooting. Michigan clawed back from there, but ended up running out of time and taking a 60-62 loss.

Durham Blue

September 28th, 2020 at 11:20 PM ^

Now I need to connect with Duncan on LinkedIn.  Maybe we can private message each other and discuss our current occupations.

By the way, awesome job on this article, Ace.  So cool to see his LinkedIn page and a text message that shows how he was a normal 'joe' like the rest of us at one time.  Love it.  I am a big Beatles fan and the stuff I most enjoy reading/watching about the Beatles is their story before they became famous.  Normal dudes with talent and a dream.  It's about being in the right place at the right time, surrounding themselves with the right people, then working hard and achieving their dreams.  The run-up to the fame is the most intriguing part for me.

M-Dog

September 29th, 2020 at 12:03 AM ^

I loved the Dak and Dunc Show. I listened to every episode of it. It was a shame it had to end.

It would be quite interesting if they did it now.  The term "asymmetrical" comes to mind . . .

 

 

Mongo

September 29th, 2020 at 12:07 PM ^

Ace - awesome article.  You get the "feels" of what this means to Michigan fans around the world.  This is the pandemic feel-good story for the Michigan faithful.  Thanks for writing it !

bronxblue

September 29th, 2020 at 12:47 PM ^

Great stuff.

Watching Robinson go from a limited player into a starter on a title contender has been amazing, and highlights how hard work plus a great situation really can shape a guy's career.