Former Michigan Wolverines basketball standout Duncan Robinson has had a breakout season for the Miami Heat, averaging 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, while shooting 44.6 percent from three-point land, in the regular season.
He's been hot and cold in the postseason, however, with four double-digit scoring games and four where he scored under 10 points.
The Heat took a 3-0 lead over the one seed Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, with Robinson scoring four, 13 and six points, respectively, and shooting just 6-of-20 overall.
Going up against the NBA's best defensive team, he exploded in game four, knocking down 6-of-12 from long range, while scoring 20 points and adding five rebounds three assists and one steal. He was 7-of-13 from the floor in 39 minutes in the Heat's 118-115 overtime loss, the first setback of the entire postseason for red hot Miami.
Robinson and Bucks forward D.J. Wilson are the two Wolverines still remaining in the playoffs, with Wilson not yet making an appearance in the postseason.
Wilson has appeared in 37 games this season, playing 9.8 minutes per contest. He's averaged 3.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per contest, while shooting 39.4 percent from the field.
Game five of the series is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Robinson was profiled by ESPN.com's Ramona Shelbourne last week. She chronicled his journey from Division III at Williams College to Michigan to now an NBA starter on a conference-title contending team.
Having seen his progression with a front row view, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was effusive in his praise for Robinson.
"Everybody talks about having a work ethic, but Duncan has such a unique persistence to his work ethic," Spoelstra told ESPN.com. "It's an obsession, really. It's not just a work ethic. He's obsessed about the entire process. If you have somebody like that who already has just a beautiful shot, and he's 6-[foot]-8, not 6-[foot]-3, the other things will improve if you're just consistent with it."
The second-year shooter's confidence continues to grow as he gains more and more experience in the league.
"I mean, some of the shots I take now I wouldn't have dreamed of taking when I first put on a Heat uniform," Robinson said. "I would've been like, 'Who am I to take that shot?' Some undrafted guy who averaged nine points a game his senior year in college."
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