“It S*cks”: Jimmy Butler’s Teammate Gets Honest on Falling Out of Pecking Order With Miami Heat

The Miami Heat had yet another great season. After playing in the 2020 Finals against the Lakers, Jimmy Butler and the Heat were swept by the Bucks in the first round the following year. But they bounced back this year, making it to the East Finals; however, they lost to Boston in 7 games.

While this year was different, two of their best shooters weren’t consistently available. Although this season was not bad for the Heat, injuries can get in the way of a great run. But apart from injured players, one of the stars who didn’t perform at his best was Duncan Robinson.

Duncan could’ve been of great help to Jimmy Butler

Robinson had one of the worst performances this postseason. He was benched, as his numbers were dipping well below his averages. Before this postseason, Robinson was averaging 9 points while shooting 42% from the field. Though his numbers from the start of this postseason were rough. He averaged only five points and one rebound this postseason.

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Robinson himself admitted that it was frustrating not being able to live up to his real potential. “Not playing is — it s*cks…especially when you feel that you’re capable, and you feel that you can help win. It’s a really, really challenging feeling,” said Robinson.

In the first round, Duncan had two games with 0 points, and in the second round, he missed three of the six games against the 76ers. He only scored 4 points in total in the second round. While all these were mere examples of his numbers going down in the playoffs, Duncan had a pretty decent regular season. Duncan is a great outside shooter, and he did pretty well on his part in the regular season.

Duncan Robinson played well in the 2020 Finals

In the 2020 Final in Orlando, Robinson was one of the critical shooters alongside Tyler Herro. Robinson averaged 12 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists against LeBron and the Lakers. Apart from being a key shooter, he would be a backup scorer for the second quarter. It is unfortunate to see such a great shooter fall, especially during a crucial time.

Robinson can be much better. His potential is obviously much higher than his recent performance, as seen in the previous postseasons. It will be interesting to see how he will improve next year.

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Source: | This article originally belongs to Essentially Sports