Do you remember what Justice was doing when we forced him to be the primary playmaker? Yeah, he was forcing loads of shots and it looked awful but the confidence he got there plus his playmaking ability started to make itself known.
Richardson forced the action, was too aggressive, and is getting used to running the show.
Yeah, 8 for 21 looks like a struggle but then you see he shot 45% on 11 3s which is fukking amazing. You see got to the line 8 times which is an important aspect of being a 1st option scorer, the ability to get to the line.
And Miami still isn’t a team loaded with knockdown shooters or lots of spacing when we’re healthy so the fact is that he got those numbers with the best wing defenders typically guarding him (Porter, Wall, Oubre) and handling lots of decision making. This is great for a young players confidence and mentality.
28/5/4 isn’t a bad game especially in the context of how he got those numbers. Let’s just relax on hating young Rich for growing pains and look at the overall growth.