Duncan Robinson is heading to the Detroit Pistons as a Malik Beasley replacement, and he has even more gravity than the controversial sharpshooter, argues a former Miami Heat teammate.
The Detroit Pistons became the first team in NBA history to triple their win total, winning 44 games, up from 14 the season prior.A big reason for their success was their improved shooting, having gone from shooting 34.8% to 36.2% between seasons. The addition of Malik Beasley helped, although it doesn’t look like he’ll be playing in the NBA anytime soon after being investigated for gambling.
In order to replace their needs on the perimeter, they conducted a sign-and-trade for the “ignitable” Duncan Robinson.Udonis Haslem praises Duncan Robinson
During his seven seasons with the Miami Heat, Robinson shot 39.7% from deep and cemented himself as one of the best snipers in the entire NBA. With Cade Cunningham finally getting a chance to run a real offense with spacing, he managed to make his first All-Star and All-NBA teams last season, and Robinson is expected to continue to unlock Cunningham’s talents.He’s a guy who’s ignitable,” summed up Udonis Haslem. “But the thing he’s going to do for them mostly is open up Cade Cunningham and other guys.
“The way defenses react when Duncan steps on the basketball court, they face guard him, they don’t help side defense. I never understood why offensive shooters couldn’t play defense on another shooter. He’s literally doing the same thing you do.”
While Detroit’s shooting improved last year, their defense also got a big boost from Ausar Thompson’s continued growth, and Haslem isn’t sure that Robinson will be able to bring much on the defensive end.
