If what we’re all about to read is true, the Miami Heat are being weird.
In a bad way.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says that free-agent point guard Nate Robinson, who began this season with the Denver Nuggets and was then traded to the Boston Celtics and released, reached out to the Heat.
And the Heat did not respond.
Ahem:
Nate Robinson, the explosive 5-9 point guard with an 11.1 career scoring average, reached out to the Heat after his buyout from the Celtics, but after two days, Miami still hadn’t responded. Robinson’s scoring could help off the bench, but the Heat has typically avoided point guards that small.
It makes sense that the Heat would ignore Robinson. Not only is he too small, but the Heat don’t need offense in the starting lineup or off the bench, and they most definitely don’t need additional depth at point guard.
Except they actually need all those things, hence why this is confusing and seemingly nonsensical.
Now would not be the time to turn away proven scoring at the team’s thinnest position because Robinson isn’t 6’3″. The Heat are a mediocre offensive team that needs playmaking and an instant scoring punch for those nights when Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are either unavailable or incapable of carrying them. Robinson would seem to be a great addition for a team that’s fighting to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Sure, he’s a defensive liability, but the Heat are bad enough defensively (23rd in points allowed per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com). One player isn’t going to cure what ails them—not even the great Hassan Whiteside.
Perhaps they’re more concerned about Robinson’s plummeting efficiency. He’s shooting 34.8 percent overall and just 26.1 percent from deep, both of which are career lows. Pushing 31, he’s not the explosive force he was a few years ago either.
Still, he drilled at least 36.5 percent of his treys in each of his last three seasons and boasts a career scoring average in the double-figures. And on a team that clearly isn’t contending for a championship, he’s a low-risk, high-reward acquisition who may, or may not, elevate the Heat’s offensive ceiling, even if only slightly.
To hell with him, though, right Riles?
Let him inevitably sign with the Los Angeles Clippers and be buried on the bench by Doc Rivers.
