Duncan Robinson says he’s right there with Heat’s late-arriving crowds at FTX Arena

Duncan Robinson said there should be more chill about his off-the-cuff take about the chill crowd at FTX Arena.

In the immediate wake of the Miami Heat’s Sunday playoff victory over the visiting Atlanta Hawks, Robinson quipped of the passionate home following, “It was an incredible atmosphere. I certainly wasn’t surprised, and I don’t think anyone should be surprised. Our fans have been amazing. Always have been, outside of maybe showing up maybe a little bit late. But that’s what you get in Miami.”

Tuesday, as the Heat prepared for Game 2 against the Hawks in the best-of-seven first-round NBA playoff series, the reserve guard said that four seasons into his Miami tenure he can relate.

“I didn’t even know people were talking about it,” he said of his Sunday comment. “I didn’t mean it as an indictment, to be honest with you. I mean, I think that’s just a very Miami thing, to just be showing up on your own time, your own speed. If anything, I think it’s in many ways a positive thing.

“I feel like I kind of fell into it a little bit since I’ve lived down here. I’ve been, ‘Yeah, I’ll be there at 11.’ It ends up being 11:15, 11:20, whatever. So, it’s kind of like island time, in a way.”

Unlike Robinson, Sunday’s game was Max Strus’ first true experience in the Heat’s playoff atmosphere, this year cast as a “White Hot” theme, and he soaked it all in.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “That’s probably one of the best atmospheres I’ve played in in my career.”

And, yes, Strus said, there were some butterflies in his first meaningful postseason minutes, now cast as a starter.

“It was definitely different,” he said. “I think right before the tip, everything just was kind of real. I just kind of looked around, the crowd was intense, and I had a little nerves.

“But as soon as the ball went up and the game started playing, those went away, so right back to normal.”

Smooth operator

Robinson said he made a point of not changing his between-games routine after shooting 8 of 9 on 3-pointers in Sunday’s victory, just as he doesn’t after an off night.

“I just keep everything the same all the time. Limit variables,” he said. “Whether I have a great game, whether I have a bad shooting game, whatever, keep it the same.

“That way you don’t get caught up overcompensating one way or another and just control what you can control, which is being prepared for every opportunity, whether that’s a workout, whether that’s practice, whether that’s a game. Keep everything the same.”

Moving on

Two days after being snubbed as a finalist for NBA Defensive Player of the Year and one day after the award went to Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart, Heat center Bam Adebayo said he was moving on.

“A lot of people reached out,” he said. “But can’t change it now. At that point, the deal is done.”

Haslem program

The Udonis Haslem Foundation announced a partnership in conjunction with FTX US in which the two organizations will award two Miami-based minority-owned small businesses with a grant of $50,000.

“I cherish the ability to give back to the Miami community that I am proud to call mine,” Haslem said. “Since the pandemic began, small businesses owned by people of color have been impacted the hardest. Through this partnership, we are committed to giving back to two small businesses in the community to help kickstart or catapult them to the next level and I look forward to seeing these businesses reach and exceed their goals.”

Businesses in need can apply for the grants via udcares.org/smallbusiness and must have been an active business for a minimum of one year or show annual revenue of $1 million.

The grants will be announced in August.

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from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/Oq78XFa