Duncan Robinson Being Sidelined Shows the Depth of the Miami Heat

Robinson has played just one minute so far in the Heat’s series against the Sixers.

Duncan Robinson was a no-show for the second straight for the Miami Heat.

In his record-setting Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks, Robinson played 23 minutes.  He has totaled just 22 minutes total in the past four postseason games. 

The reason for sidelining Robinson may be due to a lack of efficiency, but it also could be the depth of the Heat. It has been the Heat's strength all season long. With injuries throughout the lineup and constant player rotations, Miami has had to lean on the depth for success. The most recent example is the Heat’s 119-103 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Miami’s bench outscored Philadelphia’s bench 51-19. Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo combined for 37 of those 51 points. Max Strus had nine points and leads the team in 3-pointers made and attempted.

As for Robinson, the trade rumors nearing the beginning of the season may be coming into fruition. The shooting guard is getting paid $18 million a year, which may be excessive for a player that’s not even playing five minutes a game.

Head coach Erik Spoelstra talked about Robinson not getting as much playing time as before.

“It literally can change next game,” Spoelstra said. “It’s a playoff rotation. He’s stable enough, he’s ready enough and it might just be some moments where he really can change a quarter or a game and just be ignitable. It’s just the way we went [in Game 1]. But like I said before we even started this series, this is probably going to feel like three or four different series by the time we get to the middle of it.”

Hopefully, Robinson will be integrated into the scheme more throughout the rest of the series.

MORE RELATED HEAT STORIES

Heat defeat Sixers in Game 1 of Eastern Conference semis. CLICK HERE

A look at P.J. Tucker's intangibles play. CLICK HERE

Tyler Herro gets back on track after big game. CLICK HERE

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.