Josh Richardson bounces back from off night, shows signs of life on offense

For the second time in the past week, Miami Heat guard Josh Richardson was impressive offensively. His continued growth is key to the team’s future.

Welcome to the Hot Hand, where after every Miami Heat game win or loss we recognize the player who best put his stamp on the game. 

It was a rough night for the Miami Heat. A painful 116-113 home loss to the Denver Nuggets put a slight dent in the team’s playoff chances. Offensively, they were excellent, shooting 48.8 percent from the floor, nailing 13 threes and dishing out 26 assists. The defense, on the other hand, was abysmal. Denver only made five shots from beyond the arc, yet still dropped 116, including 68 points in the first half.

Josh Richardson can’t be faulted for his efforts, though.

The second-year guard was excellent tonight, on both ends. He finished with 17 points, three rebounds and two assists, while converting 4 of his 6 looks from deep. Richardson also blocked three shots, to go along with one steal.

Two of his threes occurred in the fourth quarter, and both were of extreme importance. The first came after a rare defensive stop for Miami, and gave them one of their few leads of the game.

Ultimately, though, a lack of defense was the Heat’s undoing. Regardless, it was great to see Richardson show glimpses of his rookie year form.

His growth into a legitimate NBA starter could be huge for Miami’s offseason, as he’s on a bargain contract for the next two seasons. If Pat Riley considers him the Heat’s two-way shooting guard of the future, then he can choose to spend his available cap room on filling out the rest of the roster. (Primarily, finding a new power forward.)

Then again, there’s also months of poor play from Richardson to contemplate, and two good games (with one awful one sandwiched in between) won’t change that.

The Heat (37-40), now face a tough three-game road trip, which opens up on Wednesday night, on the road against a red hot Charlotte Hornets team. Game tips at 7 pm ET.

Notes

• Just so much to talk about after a brutal loss like that. First and foremost, Miami struggled to defend all night. Tough to pin blame on any one player, but Denver shot 58.2 percent from inside the arc. The Heat couldn’t stop penetration, and the Nuggets were met with little resistance in the paint all night. Credit them as well for making some tough long 2s.
• Nikola Jokic is incredible. Since we’re on the east coast and Miami only play Denver twice yearly, I only knew about Jokic in theory. His numbers are incredible and his highlights unfathomably entertaining. But to watch him destroy my favorite team with effective post moves and pin-point passes really changes perspective. He led both teams with a plus-16 plus/minus, and was easily the best player on the court during his 35 minutes. And to think, he was a second-round pick and spent time coming off the bench this very season. Crazy.
• Hassan Whiteside finished with 16 points, 12 boards and three blocks. He didn’t play poorly, but didn’t have much of an impact, either.
• Two players the Heat could target through trade or free agency — Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari — torched Miami tonight. Gallinari finished 29 points on 11-for-19 shooting, Chandler with 19 points, nine rebounds and two blocks off the bench. I won’t say they were going out of their way to impress Riley, but that’s clearly what they were doing.
  • If Gallinari can stay healthy (major if), he would give Miami’s lineup a major shot in the arm. He’s efficient, spaces the floor and defends at an acceptable level.
  • Dragic – Richardson – Justise Winslow – Gallinari – Whiteside sound good to anyone else?
• Dion Waiters is finally out of his walking boot, but still no timetable for his return. Hopefully it’s within the next two days.
• Luke Babbitt left tonight’s game with a hip flexor. (Are we paying for the LeBron era by becoming the most injury-plagued team of all time?) We’ll know more about his status for Wednesday night in the coming days.