Miami Heat: Josh Richardson flourishing despite losing streak

Despite the recent struggles of the Miami Heat, swingman Josh Richardson continues to pose a formidable threat on both ends of the floor.

Following their fifth consecutive loss at the hands of the Houston Rockets, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was straight to the point as he described his thoughts on the loss:

"“We’re not looking for moral victories at all. We feel that we’re a very good basketball team.”"

While the team may not be getting the results it desires at this point, one player who has certainly excelled from an individual standpoint is swingman Josh Richardson.

Armed with the confidence of a newly-signed contract extension prior to the start of the season,. Richardson has gradually established himself as a legitimate two-way player.

Such has been his progression this season, it’s almost a distant memory that Richardson started the season in all-mighty funk, averaging just 8.2 points on 35.3 percent shooting over the first 19 games of the season. However, the manner in which he has picked up the slack since has been one of the highlights of the Heat’s season thus far.

Since Dec. 16, Richardson has averaged 16.7 points, 3.9 assists, 3.6 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks in 36.2 minutes per game. Most notably, his efficiency from the field has been terrific, returning the shooting splits of .482/.449/.821 over the past 27 games.

Richardson capped his extended stretch of hot from during the aforementioned loss to the Rockets, posting a career-high 30 points, which featured shooting a sizzling 7-of-9 from 3-point range. Following this performance, coach Spoelstra was naturally full of praise for the third-year swingman:

"“He understood because we were undermanned he had to come out more aggressive. So my challenge to him now is even when we’re at full strength to play with that kind of assertiveness, that kind of aggressiveness and take on that kind of responsibility for our basketball team. He was terrific on both ends tonight.”"

While his explosion on the offensive end of the floor garnered the most attention, it was his presence at the defensive end of the court that was just as crucial, despite the contributions of Rockets superstars James Harden and Chris Paul. As Spoelstra noted after the game:

"“He was probably the only guy that we could put on either Harden or Paul that offered any kind of real resistance. He did this at 39 minutes a game on both ends of the court. That shows what J-Rich is capable of. We needed every part of it."

Further illustrating Richardson’s potency on the defensive is the fact the Heat are 5.9 points per 100 possessions better off defensively when Richardson is on the floor. At 6’6″ with a 6’10” wingspan, Richardson leads the Heat with 2.3 deflections per game, while also displaying his all-out hustle by placing second on the team in loose balls recovered with 1.1 per game.

Furthermore, he is also second on the Heat behind center Hassan Whiteside with 8.8 contested shots per game.

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Following this cold streak, the Heat now find themselves with a 29-26 record and hanging onto the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. With some key players due to return shortly from injury, the Heat will certainly be hoping Richardson can maintain his standard of play in their final three games leading into the All-Star break.