I was super impressed with Josh Richardson last year. Super duper impressed. Second-round rookies don’t usually shoot 45 percent from three.
I am less impressed with him this year. Way less impressed. Regression to the norm is hitting him hard this season, as his three-point shooting has plummeted and he hasn’t picked up the slack in any other facet of the game. He’s taking a bunch more shots and barely getting any extra points out of them. His free-throw rate is pretty bad as well, but it’s not as bad as Luke Babbitt’s or Wayne Ellington’s, so he gets a pass on that one. Obvs the refs just hate the Heat.
Perhaps this is the game that represents his turning of the corner. That would be great, because right now, the Heat are almost unwatchable. They need a young talent like J-Rich to add a little zazz to the proceedings. If he can score 15 a game, maybe I’ll even consider willingly watching the Heat instead of grudgingly doing so because it is my duty to keep track of what all the teams are looking like.