Rookie Orlando Robinson continuing to make case to be Heat backup center; Giannis out vs. Heat

The Miami Heat’s backup center spot has belonged to veteran Dewayne Dedmon for most of the season, but that doesn’t mean that role will belong to Dedmon the rest of the way.

Dedmon won’t be the backup center in Thursday’s home matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks because he will be serving his team-issued one-game suspension without pay for “conduct detrimental to the team” stemming from his outburst after being subbed out during Tuesday’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Dedmon got into a heated discussion with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the sideline before swatting a massage gun onto the court during play as he left the bench and stormed back to the locker room.

But even when Dedmon becomes eligible to return Saturday when the Heat hosts the Bucks for a second consecutive game, there’s far less clarity regarding who the backup center is than there was a month ago.

One reason for that is because Dedmon has struggled to produce positive results while battling through plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The Heat has been outscored by 10.1 points per 100 possessions with Dedmon on the court this season.

Another reason is the possibility of center Omer Yurtseven returning at some point in the coming weeks from left ankle surgery.

But the other factor is the encouraging play of undrafted rookie center Orlando Robinson.

“He just does what you ask him to do,” Heat star Jimmy Butler said of Robinson. “He doesn’t complain, he doesn’t say too much. You tell him to set a screen and roll, you tell him to set a screen and pop, you tell him to shoot a three, crash the boards. He’s a pro’s pro and he’s learning at a very fast rate. I’m happy for him. He’s proving that he can play in this league.”

Robinson, 22, entered Thursday with double-digit minutes in eight of the Heat’s past 13 games. Some of those opportunities have come with Dedmon missing time because of plantar fasciitis, but others have come with Dedmon available.

In Sunday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets, Robinson was used as the Heat’s backup center despite Dedmon also being in uniform. It marked Dedmon’s first DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) of the season.

Robinson’s numbers haven’t been flashy, averaging 5.2 points on 57.4 percent shooting from the field, 4.3 rebounds and one assist per game in his first 14 appearances this season. But he has helped the Heat survive the minutes when starting center Bam Adebayo has been on the bench.

Robinson has been a positive when on the court, as the Heat entered Thursday outscoring teams by a team-best 7.1 points per 100 possessions in his minutes this season. That eye-opening number is a bit inflated by the fact that Robinson closed Sunday’s loss to the Nets as a plus-24, but he was a net positive even before that.

“Basically everybody is on the table right now,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about the backup center decision between Dedmon and Robinson. “We need contributions from everybody, anybody and it might differ from game to game.”

Robinson was a high-usage player in college, averaging 19.4 points on 48.4 percent shooting from the field and 71.6 percent shooting from the foul line, 8.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 blocks per game as a junior at Fresno State last season. But he’s adapting to a much different role with the Heat as he makes his case to be the backup center.

“In college, I was the main guy. At the [G League’s Sioux Falls] Skyforce, I kind of made it to where I was the main guy,” Robinson said. “And here, obviously, with great players like Bam [Adebayo], Tyler [Herro] and Jimmy [Butler], we don’t need another main guy. So just sitting down and watching these games, I got an opportunity to see what we did need, which is like a role player who’s willing to go out there and follow directions and create extra possessions, rebound, finish possessions. That’s just the role I’ve come to accept and try to master.”

Instead of the offense flowing through Robinson post-ups like at Fresno State, he’s getting most of his points with the Heat off rolls to the basket, offensive rebounds and dump-off passes from others driving into the paint. Of the 31 field goals he has made for the Heat entering Thursday, 11 have come on putbacks, 10 have come on rolls into the paint after setting a screen and seven have come on cuts, according to Synergy Sports.

“Setting the screens and rolling is just getting all these great shooters and my teammates open, and gets me easier looks at the basket because they get double-teamed and pressured,” Robinson said. “So any time that I can create a better opportunity for them to get to the basket and score is good for me. Also, if I’m open, either I can score or I can create.”

The issue is there are restrictions on Robinson’s availability. As part of his two-way contract, he’ll only be permitted to be on the Heat’s active list for 18 more games this regular season following Thursday’s game against the Bucks and is not eligible to take part in the playoffs.

The Heat has one open spot on its 15-man roster that it could use to sign Robinson to a standard contract to avoid those restrictions, but converting his two-way to a standard deal would currently push Miami into the luxury tax. To avoid entering the tax, the Heat will either have to make a trade to create more space under the tax threshold or wait until late March to convert Robinson to a standard contract.

“I know where I’m at. I know how many days I have left,” Robinson said when asked about his two-way contract limitations. “But that’s like in the back of my mind right now. I’m just trying to get as many wins as possible, trying to contribute in any way that I can for as long as I’m here. That’s my focus.”

INJURY REPORT; HERRO WELCOMES SON

The Heat had just nine available players for the second straight game on Thursday against the Bucks.

Dedmon (team suspension), Herro (left Achilles soreness), Nikola Jovic (lower back stress reaction), Kyle Lowry (left knee discomfort), Caleb Martin (left quadriceps strain), Duncan Robinson (finger surgery) and Yurtseven (left ankle surgery) were all ruled ruled out.

Adebayo, and power forwards Haywood Highsmith (left patellar tendinitis) and Udonis Haslem (right Achilles tendinosis) were all available. Adebayo sat out Miami’s win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday with a wrist injury.

While ruled out because of injury, Herro will also miss the game after the birth of his second child and first son on Thursday afternoon. Herro and his girlfriend, Katya Elise Henry, named him Harlem Herro.

The Bucks will also be short-handed for Thursday’s game in Miami on the second night of a back-to-back after defeating the Hawks in Atlanta on Wednesday night.

Milwaukee ruled out Grayson Allen (right ankle sprain), Giannis Antetokounmpo (left knee soreness), Serge Ibaka (personal reasons), Joe Ingles (left knee injury management) and Khris Middleton (right knee soreness) against Miami.