Josh Richardson is the Miami Heat’s secret star you should know

Josh Richardson’s name is boring — I’ll give you that much. The two-way Miami Heat star might be the most underrated player in the league, but what if he was named Jacques Roberson? Or Jarvis Radagast? How about Juiceland Rihanna? You’d probably know his name then.

You should definitely know it, regardless.

Richardson is one of the Heat’s two-way stars and was a huge reason behind Monday’s Game 2 win, a 113-103 affair where Richardson absolutely smothered his direct counterparts, namely Robert Covington and J.J. Redick. He’s a 6’6 wing who burst into the league two years ago as a high second rounder. As a rookie during the 2015-16 season, he semi-famously hit 46 percent behind the arc during 52 games off the bench, a performance fitting of his four-year career at the University of Tennessee. When he entered the league, he was ready.

Of course, Miami missed the playoffs last season, with their historical second-half rally coming just short of earning a postseason spot. Richardson fought through injuries during much of the season and started to earn himself a starting nod, spending 34 of his 53 games in the starting lineup, a campaign that set up this year’s. This season, Richardson played 81 games and started all of them.

This season was Richardson’s breakout in more than one way. He averaged the following career highs: minutes (33.2), points (12.9), two-point shooting (49.5 percent), assists (2.9), steals (1.5), and blocks (0.9). His True Shooting Percentage is slightly below league average, but his importance to Miami’s success is a must.

To appreciate the most underrated player in the league, you have to actually see him. I can help with that. Here’s the sequence that best sums up his impact on both ends.

That was his second block of the game, and here is his third. This one, admittedly, is suspect — I’m fairly certain it’s clean, especially up top when the actual block occurs, but it’s tricky to clear that up without a replay angle. Even with Saric gaining a half-step on Richardson, he still recovers for the swat.

Richardson’s main impact isn’t splash plays, though, even though he is highly capable of them. He recorded six deflections and contested nine shots on Monday, small but important statistics that contributed to the overall team defense. He and his teammate James Johnson were both incredible against opposing wings: Dario Saric shot 8-of-21, J.J. Redick 4-of-13, and Marco Bellinelli 5-of-13.

We talk most about Philadelphia’s stars, and rightly so. But their wing depth is the secret factor that makes them brutally difficult to defend — Redick’s off-ball movement has been doubled with the Bellinelli addition, and Saric is a multi-dimensional offensive player whose shooting sets up his inside-the-arc game. Causing those three to struggle on Monday was imperative, and Philadelphia’s 42 percent shooting as a team showed just that.

Richardson’s ability to seamlessly switch between both types of players is the reason he played the second-most minutes on Miami (33) and why his presence enables many of the lineups that head coach Eric Spoelstra breaks out. While it’s a somewhat noisy stat, Richardson’s defensive field goal percentage — the percentage that opponents made buckets with him as his primary defender — was 41.6 percent, a number comparable to players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday.

Here’s another stat: among players under 6’7, only one contested more two-pointers than Richardson, another elite wing defender, Danny Green. For total shots, only two more players beat Richardson’s number of contests per game: Victor Oladipo and Holiday. Those are players in consideration for all-defensive spots, and Richardson should be, too. His activity on the perimeter is special, and his ability to stick with the best scorers, big and small alike, gives Miami a necessary edge.

Only Goran Dragic and the team’s bench scorer (first Dion Waiters, now Dwyane Wade) attempted more shots than Richardson this season for Miami.

You can’t leave Richardson open behind the arc (4.1 attempts on 38 percent shooting) and he has leveraged that threat into an effective inside-the-arc game, too. His efficiency would be helped if he went to the line more, a skill he hasn’t developed, but the 24-year-old wing has time to figure that out. The rest of it — pull-up jumpers, high-arcing finger rolls, the occasional floater — has been added to his arsenal.

We’re not the only ones calling for Richardson to be as well known as a Juiceland Rihanna would be — the young wing may be making a name for himself, if Twitter is to be believed. Like these tweets, for example.

This is good and deserving, and Miami beating the Philadelphia 76ers would only serve to expose him further. Their Game 2 win wouldn’t have been possible without Richardson, and stealing one in Philadelphia sets the stage for a fascinating series as the games shift back to South Beach.

One thing’s for sure: you’ll know his name soon enough.