The Miami Heat were slated to play the Golden State Warriors back-to-back on Monday night, so they had no time to stop and think about their devastating double overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings.
The Heat easily defeated the Warriors 114-98 on Tuesday night at Chase Center, with to strong bench performances from Nikola Jovic and Duncan Robinson. Miami appeared to be on the verge of blowing another double-digit advantage.
Nikola Jovic and Duncan Robinson must be added to the starting lineup.
Erik Spoelstra made the decision to stick with the starting lineup and not make any substitutions during Monday night’s defeat to Sacramento. However, in this case, Spoelstra completely reversed course and left players like Duncan Robinson and Nikola Jovic on the court rather than bringing back Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr., who both had outstanding performances.
Instead of running absolutely dry, as has been the case several times this season, Jovic and Robinson kept the offense moving, so Spoelstra’s approach ultimately paid off. Jovic’s consecutive 3-pointers, one of which gave him a and-one opportunity after the Warriors cut the advantage to one, serve as a prime example of this concept.
After Duncan Robinson missed, Jovic grabbed an offensive rebound and made a layup, which led to a foul and a 3-pointer. This continued his impressive fourth quarter effort. With 20 points and a team-high 34 minutes played, Jovic ended up leading the Heat in scoring.
Jovic should be expected to close games if he is playing well in the fourth quarter. This should be his standard. Jovic should also be added to the starting lineup, in my opinion, since his shooting, playmaking, and willingness to assault the paint may greatly aid the Heat’s offense.
Regarding Duncan Robinson, his shooting prowess is already well known; what is more important is the rapport he shares with Bam Adebayo. The fact that most of Adebayo’s appearances are disputed is one factor contributing to his poor shooting performance this season.
Adebayo consistently appears to have the best offensive looks when Robinson is on the field, with open lanes for a dunk or lob.
(If at all feasible, include an alley-oop to Adebayo underneath.)
Adebayo and Robinson developed a strong bond during the 2019–2020 season, when both players rose to prominence, and they have been a major factor in the Heat’s recent success.
It’s time to put Robinson back in that position and leave him there for good because he has been a starter this season. Because he creates space for teammates to work and can locate teammates if two come at him off a screen, Robinson can help the Heat’s offense avoid a stalemate late in games in addition to helping them start quickly with his accurate shooting.
