Josh Richardson went from shooting 45% from the field (46% on threes) in his rookie season to shooting 38% from the field (30% on threes) this season. A guy who looked like a good bet to become a solid starting shooting guard in this league regressed into a guy who you might not even want as your backup. However, there is one thing that shields Richardson from any and all criticism, and that is his POTENTIAL. He has a very big potential and he actually might have more than one of them, which means that he can perform badly and still be good.
The Heat’s most impressive run of games from mid-January to mid-February all saw Richardson out with injury, but they’re still playing quite well even with Richardson in the rotation logging heavy minutes (nearly thirty per game in March). Dion Waiters will come back from injury eventually and put Richardson back into his proper role off the bench, and the Heat will be better off for it unless Waiters is gimped and sucks in which case the Heat probably won’t win a playoff series.
Remember folks: POTENTIAL. It magically turns bad players into good ones.