The 2020 NBA Finals resulted in the Miami Heat coming up just short of beating the Los Angeles Lakers, as they lost the championship series in six games, but the Heat learned a lot about themselves in the NBA Bubble.
Not only was Jimmy Butler a true superstar in this league, but if Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo were healthy, they could have had a real shot at beating LeBron James and Co.
Heading into the 2020-21 season, there were a lot of expectations placed on the Heat to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, but health protocols hit this team hard early on in the season. Head coach Erik Spoelstra was constantly changing the rotations due to players being in and out of protocols and as a result, they entered the All-Star break with an 18-18 record.
Miami’s misfortune continued for the rest of the regular season, as Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, and others were banged up at times and after acquiring Victor Oladipo at the NBA trade deadline, he re-injured his right quad again, the same quad he had injured back in 2019.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: 3 Trade Targets For Miami Heat Entering Training Camp
Everything that could have gone wrong for the Heat last season went wrong and they not only finished the regular season with a 40-32 record but they got swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Now, Miami seems to have some “new life” to them entering the 2021-22 season due to the fact that they had a fantastic offseason. The Heat was able to land 6x All-Star Kyle Lowry and veteran P.J. Tucker in free agency, as well as agree to terms on a contract extension with All-Star Jimmy Butler.
Getting both Lowry and Tucker, as well as extending Jimmy Butler’s contract was important for Miami this offseason, but so was bringing back Duncan Robinson on a new deal.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: 3 Trade Targets For Miami Heat Entering Training Camp
Since entering the league as an undrafted player in 2018, Duncan Robinson has made a name for himself knocking down shots from the perimeter, and last season, he made a total of 250 three-point shots, ranking him 4th in the league in made three-pointers. He has now shot 40-plus percent from deep in back-to-back seasons and is the catalyst on the perimeter for Miami.
Shooting is a big part of the NBA right now and the Miami Heat have one of the best perimeter threats in the game in Robinson. Bringing him back was a priority and there never seemed to be doubts on either side about him returning to South Beach.
