How Heat’s Vincent mastered ‘toughest thing to do.’ And Robinson on his ‘gratifying’ run

Heat guard Gabe Vincent hasn’t merely hit 9 of 16 three-pointers in the NBA Finals, and 21 for his past 38 overall.

He hasn’t merely led all Eastern Conference point guards in playoff plus/minus, with Miami outscoring teams by 78 points when he’s on the floor this postseason.

He hasn’t merely distinguished himself as a starting point guard in an NBA Finals, three years after toiling for a G League team in Stockton, California.

According to his coach, Vincent also has mastered “the toughest thing to do in this league” — transition from shooting guard to point guard.

“He took on I think the toughest role change for a young player,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Vincent scored 23 points (on 8-for-12 shooting), with three assists, two steals and one turnover in the Heat’s 111-108 Game 2 win in Denver on Sunday, knotting the NBA Finals at 1-1 heading into Game 3 on Wednesday in Miami (8:30 p.m., ABC).

“He was a gunslinger, two guard,” Spoelstra said late Sunday night, explaining his journey to those unfamiliar with his ascent. “We wanted to develop him into a combo guard, somebody that could organize us, be an irritant defensively, tough, learn how to facilitate and run a team.

“I think that’s the toughest thing to do in this league, is turn a 2 [shooting guard] into a 1 [point guard]. He openly just embraced that. Then he struggled at times with that because you’re trying to reinvent yourself. Instead of saying, ‘this is too tough, let me be me,’ he’s really grown the last three years.”

Vincent, who will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, said Sunday night that the transition from shooting guard to point guard “definitely wasn’t easy. The staff was great with me, whether it was film or getting in the gym, and my teammates have been phenomenal, coaching me up, telling me to be more aggressive when I’m questioning it or trying to think, ‘should I pass first?’ And our stars… trust my IQ of the game.”

Vincent has averaged 13.9 points (third highest on the team), 3.9 assists and 1.6 rebounds in this playoff run, and his three-point shooting has been at an elite level (41.3 percent) through 19 playoff games.

For perspective, among all NBA starting point guards, only Golden State’s Steph Curry (42.7) and the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson (41.6) shot three-pointers at a higher percentage during the regular season than Vincent is doing during these playoffs.

Among all NBA starting point guards in the playoffs, only Minnesota’s Mike Conley and Memphis’ Ja Morant had a higher three-point shooting percentage than Vincent, and those two played only five games this postseason.

“He’s just an incredible winning player,” Spoelstra said. “He’s like a lot of our guys, the competitive spirit. You get challenged like we’re getting challenged in this series, you hope it brings out the best in you. And that’s what it’s doing with him.”

Defensively, Vincent held the player he was guarding to 45 percent shooting this season. Among NBA starting point guards, only Morant, the Clippers’ Russell Westbrook and Boston’s Derrick White held opponents to a lower shooting percentage, per the NBA’s tracking data.

And during these playoffs, according to the NBA’s tracking data, Vincent has held Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. — who is eight inches taller — to 1-for-8 shooting, Boston’s White to 5-for-14, Boston’s Malcolm Brodgon to 3-for-9 and Brunson to 15-for-36.

“He’s just a special guy,” Spoelstra said. “People severely overestimate what you can get accomplished in a day, and they grossly underestimate what you can get accomplished in a matter of months, years, when nobody is paying attention. And he’s the epitome of that.”

Through two Finals games, Vincent has averaged 21.0 points and shot 57.7 percent from the field and 56.3 percent on threes.

What has Vincent proven during this playoff run?

“Undrafted players can start in the Finals, be productive and it doesn’t mean anything that he’s undrafted,” Bam Adebayo said.

“He’s giving guys who are going through his path or down that road of, you’re not this, you’re not that, you’re not this, and he’s carving a space for himself. I feel like a lot of people are going to know who Gabe Vincent is.”

ROBINSON’S RISE

After not taking a shot through three scoreless quarters, Duncan Robinson hit two three-pointers as part of his 10-point outburst in the first 2:16 of the fourth quarter, an eruption that triggered a 15-2 Heat run that turned an eight-point Denver lead into a three-point Heat advantage.

Robinson is now shooting 44 percent (44 for 100) on three-pointers in the playoffs, sixth best among all players who have attempted at least 50 threes.

That follows a season in which he shot 32.8 percent on threes (63 for 192), missed six weeks after injuring a finger and lost his rotation spot.

“It’s certainly gratifying,” Robinson said of his playoff performance in the wake of a roller coaster regular season. “Gives you a newfound perspective and appreciation just for opportunity and this journey, understanding that you kind of go through stretches where you’re going to have challenges and you’re going to have to deal with adversity and overcome it.

“It’s not always storybook in that sense and you don’t always get when you want, and just kind of learning how to deal with that and push through that, I think obviously it makes moments like this more enjoyable but I think it also just makes you more grateful to have opportunities on this stage. Try not to take it for granted and yeah, you know, just go out there and enjoy myself and have fun and try to help this team win games.”

After scoring Miami’s first eight points of the quarter, Robinson clenched his jaw and delivered a “mean mug” shot and flex.

“I surprised myself with the fact that I pulled that one out,” he said. “That was not premeditated at all. That was a spur-of-the-moment thing.

“To be honest, I don’t get a lot of moments in the season to break that one out; so when you get one, you’ve got to try to take advantage of it, I guess.

“Mostly just try to play with a certain level of joy. I feel like I play my best when I’m having fun, and I’m always going to try to be respectful with it but having fun and enjoying just this stage. This is an incredible stage to be on as a player. That is when you dream about, so it doesn’t make any sense to get here and not enjoy it.”