Defense
There was a lot to love about Richardson’s defense during his rookie year. He was constantly hounding opposing backcourts and this year, he showed flashes of the ability to defend more positions on the floor including the capability to rotate onto a big and still have success.
If Richardson was an instinctive, aggressive defender last year, he took those attributes and attached them to a smart defender who makes the right move to force a turnover or disrupt a shot. One of the most common of those examples is in the pick and roll.
In a must-win home game against Cleveland, twice did the Cavaliers try to get Richardson off balance on a pick and roll. First, Deron Williams (who Richardson turned over five times on the night) and Channing Frye forced a switch with Richardson having to recover to the rolling Frye.
With Okaro White on Williams, the point guard went to his roll man only for Richardson to recover quickly and steal the ball.
A few minutes later, it happened again. This time, Richardson had to switch onto the versatile Kevin Love. A textbook switch and recovery and Richardson was off with yet another steal.
Richardson’s defensive growth came with the development of his basketball IQ that included an improvement of his pick-and-roll defense (68th percentile in 2017 vs. 46th percentile in 2016, per NBA.com) as well as his ability to defend in the post. This was possibly by design, as he
In a tough matchup in Toronto, Richardson is switched onto the much larger Serge Ibaka. He fronts despite Hassan Whiteside (his rim protection and last line of defense) being taken out of the play, but is able to use his athleticism to snatch a lazy pass and get out on the fast break. One bounce to Dragic and the Heat had another basket.
Along with developing his pick and roll defensive game and defense in the post, Richardson also turned into a consistent shot-blocker. Only second to Whiteside in the last 13 games in blocks, Richardson certainly adapted to the speed of the NBA game and it showed with his timing when defending at the rim.
In fact, offensive players shot four percent worse at the rim (inside six feet) when defended by Richardson.
Moving forward, the Heat can look to move Richardson around similar to the way the Boston Celtics use their versatile defender Avery Bradley and, to a lesser extent, how San Antonio shifts their defensive assassin Kawhi Leonard around the floor.
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The question with Josh Richardson heading into the 2017-18 season starts and ends with his health. Will he be able to contribute for more than 53 games? Can he get off to a good start and ride that momentum through an 82-game season?
If the answer to those questions is yes, then the Heat have themselves an emerging star particularly on the defensive end as Richardson has the chance to grade out as one of the best defensive guards in the league over the course of the season.
Offensively, he’ll continue to grow and not only be valuable to the Heat early in games off the bench, but also as a crunch-time shot-creator to give them another scoring threat.