Michigan Basketball: Duncan Robinson, Heat face NBA playoff exit
Former Michigan basketball star Duncan Robinson played in the NBA finals last season with the Miami Heat but that doesn’t seem likely in 2021.
It was always going to be hard for the Miami Heat and former Michigan basketball standout Duncan Robinson to repeat the magic from last summer in the NBA bubble.
That’s when the Heat went into the 2020 postseason as the No. 5 seed. Usually, that would mean no home-court advantage and while they did play at the other team’s home floor, it was still in the bubble and not a real home-court edge.
Miami, thanks to a stellar postseason from a number of players, including Robinson and of course, Jimmy Butler and the rest of the crew, stunned the league with their run.
The Heat eventually made it to the NBA finals, which allowed Robinson to become the first player to ever play in the Division III national title game, the Division I national title game, and the NBA Finals.
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Since Juwan Howard came to the Wolverines from Miami, there are some strong connections between the Heat organization and U-M.
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Robinson is a big part of that. He actually played under Howard in Miami and is one of the few guys to have played for both John Beilein and Juwan.
All of that made it easy to pull for Robinson, and even for the Heat. They have been my adopted NBA team, but after another loss to Milwaukee on Thursday night, it looks like the ride is coming to an end.
Miami upset top-seeded Milwaukee last year, stunning the basketball world. This season though, Giannis and the Bucks would have none of it.
Robinson started the series hot and connected on seven 3-pointers in a Game One loss. He finished with 24 points, but the U-M product who made 7-of-13 treys has gone 2-for-10 since then with just 12 points, including just two on Thursday in a demoralizing 113-84 loss in Miami.
Now, facing an 0-3 deficit and a possible free agency, Robinson could be playing his last game for the Heat this weekend, barring some sort of incredible comeback.