And Duncan Robinson listened to Boston fans. Six minutes from the end of Game 7, the Miami shooter had just scored a layup behind the Celtics defense, to bring the gap to +19 (94-73). In the aftermath, Joe Mazzulla took a time-out and the shooter therefore chambered the (annoyed) supporters of TD Garden.
A gesture that does not really resemble Duncan Robinson. But in JJ Redick’s podcast, the shooting winger (10 points at 4/6 shooting including 2/3 at 3-pointers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final) explains why he decided to force his nature to go after Celtic fans.
“I wanted to do it but there was an internal conflict” he explains. “You play on the field of your childhood, having grown up as a fan of the Celtics (NB: Duncan Robinson grew up in New Hampshire, an hour’s drive from Boston) so there is the idea of doing it but you have to weigh enough in the match to be able to afford it. And it was limited because ideally, you have to score around twenty points to be able to do it. So to do it with ten points, on a layup in the back of the defense, it’s not really what I had imagined… ”
But then, why was Duncan Robinson so keen to make this gesture?
“Well, I don’t know how it happened. Maybe it’s from someone I was with in high school, because I still have the same number. My phone number was dropped in a group chat somewhere. A large discussion group. So when we lost Game 6, my phone was overloaded with calls and messages from numbers in New England State. Insults, Curt Schilling’s bloody sock memes (symbol of the comeback of the Red Sox, winners of the New York Yankees after being led 3-0 in the final of the American baseball league). There were like 70 messages. So I wonder what’s going on. Besides, I’m pissed because we’re coming out of this loss, and I missed some important shots. »
The Miami winger then explains that he first looked for who could have leaked his phone number, before thinking about his “revenge”, which he nevertheless considers quite “disappointing”.
“You’d be shocked how many people took it the wrong way. I’ve heard a lot about it. It was very divided. Some liked it a lot and others near me said it was unnecessary or lacked class. But hey, it’s like that … I would have preferred it to happen on my 7th 3-point shot of the evening. But I felt that would not be the case. So I saw an opportunity then, they took a time-out, the room was incredibly quiet and I decided to go for it. »
| Duncan Robinson | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2018-19 | MIA | 15 | 11 | 39.1 | 28.6 | 66.7 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 3.3 |
| 2019-20 | MIA | 73 | 30 | 47.0 | 44.6 | 93.1 | 0.1 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 13.5 |
| 2020-21 | MIA | 72 | 31 | 43.9 | 40.8 | 82.7 | 0.1 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 13.1 |
| 2021-22 | MIA | 79 | 26 | 39.9 | 37.2 | 83.6 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 10.9 |
| 2022-23 | MIA | 42 | 17 | 37.1 | 32.8 | 90.6 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 6.4 |
| Total | 281 | 26 | 42.9 | 39.9 | 86.6 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 11.1 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
