Duncan Robinson went from a $90 million asset to a potted plant affixed to the bench in record time. Robinson made a change this summer that could pay off for him in the 2022-23 season.
In an episode this week of his “The Long Shot” podcast, the Miami Heat sharpshooter revealed that he underwent nose surgery earlier in the offseason as part of an effort to improve his breathing.
“I actually had surgery, very minor,” revealed Robinson, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “It was an optional surgery. I had an old fracture in my nose, and I couldn’t breathe out of one of my nostrils, basically my whole life, since I was, like, in seventh grade.
“I got a consultation and turns out my right nostril is 90 percent blocked,” Robinson went on. “So I was getting like half the air that I could have. [The recovery] was brutal for, like, 10 days. But we’re on the other side of that now, thankfully. I can breathe. It’s amazing. I feel like a new man.”
Robinson probably needs all the help he can get at this point. Although he is still the owner of one of the NBA’s best pure strokes from three-point land, the former Michigan star is tailspinning fast. Robinson played just 159 total minutes over 18 playoff games for the Heat last year (many in garbage time) as he was leapfrogged in the Miami rotation by Max Strus, a comparable three-point shooter and far better defender.
The times he does see the court, the 28-year-old Robinson is in constant off-ball motion as he tries to shake free of defenders. The improved breathing should definitely help him in that regard and also possibly when it comes to getting back in transition and keeping up with quick ball-handlers. But it may take more than better cardio for Robinson to live up to his bloated contract with the Heat (even if it is not nearly as bad as people think).
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