Miami Heat: Josh Richardson has had enough and more

The Miami Heat took another loss last night, this time at the hands of a LeBron James led Los Angeles Lakers team.

Another evening, another loss for the Miami Heat.

And this time, it was thanks to a familiar face.

LeBron James returned to the AmericanAirlines arena last night, the first showing alongside a newly minted Los Angeles Lakers team, and boy did he put on a show. The King finished with 51 points in 38 minutes of play, shooting a whopping 19-of-31 from the field, including going an impressive 6-of-8 from downtown.

This was on top of his his eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block too, of course.

To say the superstar couldn’t be stopped, would be an understatement.

However, while James was certainly Sunday night’s headline, he wasn’t the only note worthy part of the matchup.

Honestly, who throws a shoe?

If as a fan, you’ve had enough of the Heat losing, imagine how it feels to be someone like Josh Richardson.

The fourth-year, who is currently averaging a career-high 20.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals a game in 34.8 minutes of play, is doing whatever he can to try and lead the team to success.

Still, it doesn’t seem to be good enough.

His 31-point performance against the Sacramento Kings on October 29, wasn’t enough for a win. Neither was his 32-point, career-high showout, versus the Atlanta Hawks on November 3. Same goes for when he put up 28 points just the other day at Indiana, in a loss to the Pacers.

And you guessed it, his 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field, barely put a dent in yesterday’s battle either.

So naturally, the swingman is a little frustrated. A feeling that only escalates, when he gets no respect from officials.

Richardson has already dealt with a handful of questionable calls so far this season, but last night, he had enough. After he took contact from Josh Hart going up for a dunk, and lost his shoe in the process, it was game over.

The referees wouldn’t listen to his side of the story, so he took matters into his own hands.

Yes, by throwing his shoe into the stands and ultimately getting ejected.

While the young fella’s actions had #HeatTwitter laughing with tears, making good use of the Austin Powers “honestly, who throws a shoe?” meme, the reality of the situation is actually pretty upsetting.

Richardson rarely, if ever, loses control, so for him to act out in such a way shows how truly aggravated he is over Miami’s poor start to their 2018-19 run. Especially considering how great of a season he’s already having.

Hang in there, JRich.

Miss you, Gor

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Goran Dragic continues to be one of the most underrated players in the league.

And what’s worse, is that not even all of Heat Nation even truly appreciates what he brings to the table.

Still dealing with a bothersome knee, the guard sat out last evening’s contest. It was the fifth game of the year he’s missed, four of which resulted in losses.

(It gets worse too, as there’s now speculation that he may be out for quite a while longer.)

Averaging 16.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists a game in 30.8 minutes of play, it’s less about the type of numbers the veteran puts up; what Dragic does for the Heat is lead. In almost every sense of the word.

He runs the offense at a faster speed, better keeping his teammates on their toes. His high basketball IQ allows him to be one step ahead of the play at all times, allowing Miami to outsmart the opposition. He has elite ball-handling skills, that ultimately help cut down on the squad’s sloppy mistakes.

Nevermind that he’s not afraid to be vocal, especially with the younger guys.

So it’s safe to say that Dragic was seriously missed on Sunday. And will continue to be, should he have to miss anymore time, moving forward.

The Miami Heat take on the Brooklyn Nets tomorrow at 7:30 PM ET.