After the All Star Weekend, things seem to be going south for the Miami Heat. Chris Bosh learned that the blood clots may have returned. Dwyane Wade had to sit out a couple games as well. Beno Udrih was deemed out for the season after he underwent foot surgery. The team had already lost Tyler Johnson after he underwent shoulder surgery. It was just a series of very unfortunate events for a team that was blatantly lacking in any kind of consistent shooting.
Josh Richardson was all that was left, and hadn’t really played many quality minutes thus far. Richardson may have been the only person who knew that his playing time with the team thus far in the season wasn’t considered quality. Right out the gate he showed his prowess from the 3-point line, something the team so desperately needed.
On Friday night against his All Star teammate’s hometown team, it was the culmination of everything for Richardson. He went 4-6 from beyond the arc and 9-12 from the field total, finishing with 22 pts and 4 assists. Does this mean that Richardson’s time off the bench will increase? It should. He doesn’t seem phased by the pressure.
The Heat are a game back from the Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings. With the addition of Joe Johnson to the roster, they finally have some shooters. Chris Bosh claims that he’s returning this season. Wade has his ups and downs, but can definitely still lead the team. Goran Dragic is finally looking more comfortable with his place on the team. Of course, the consistent presence of Hassan Whiteside in the paint cannot be ignored, and say what you want about Whiteside, but his post game is now an actual real thing to speak on.
The Heat on paper seem to have a good combination of youth and veteran leadership. Many are wondering if they can give the Cavaliers a run in the playoffs, but before you go crazy over the Cavaliers, maybe you should think more of the Raptors. Either way, the team right now is poised to carry their fans through a successful first round playoff win, but can the team that can’t beat the Milwaukee Bucks go back to the Eastern Conference Finals?
Everything changes in the playoffs. We all know the regular season means nothing at that point. The Heat have survived injury after injury, and someone always seems to come shining through for the team. Let’s see what else Richardson and the rest of the roster can pull out of Wade’s bag of tricks.
