Miami Heat: 5 goals for Josh Richardson in 2017-18

Keen to rebound from an injury-interrupted campaign last season, here are five goals for Josh Richardson in season 2017-18.

The 2016-17 NBA season was a source of frustration for second-year swingman Josh Richardson. With the Miami Heat completing a significant overhaul of their roster in the summer of 2016, Richardson was viewed as one of the key pieces as the Heat looked beyond the Big 3 era.

But in the lead up to training camp, Richardson suffered a partially torn MCL in his right knee, resulting in a significant interruption to his preparation. The result was a six-week stint on the sidelines, and an eventual late start to the regular season.

So after finishing the regular season of his rookie year on such a high, this untimely injury obviously put Richardson behind the eight-ball. But things only turned for the worse at the mid-point of last season, when Richardson suffered a left foot sprain, resulting in a 19-game absence.

His return after this second setback showed just how much Richardson’s game was affected by this untimely interruptions. In the first 12 games after his foot injury, Richardson averaged just 5.2 points in 22.7 minutes per game, which included hitting at a disastrous 20.0 percent clip from 3-point range. Considering he shot at a 53.5 percent clip from downtown over the final 26 games of his rookie season, this represented an enormous drop in production.

To his credit, Richardson managed to finish last season strongly, averaging 12.8 points,1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks in 36.8 minutes per game, while converting at a much-improved 42.4 percent clip from three on 4.9 attempts per game.

Therefore, with a full summer of preparation behind him, Richardson is going be to incredibly keen to make amends for his poor showing last season. With this in mind, here are five goals for Richardson in season 2017-18.