When the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Josh Richardson from the Miami Heat back on June 30, it was a move that raised a few eyebrows. Richardson isn’t the shooter that JJ Redick is nor is he the big-time player that Jimmy Butler is.
On Saturday, Richardson was the big star while Butler was a dud in his return to Philadelphia.
The Sixers shooting guard scored 32 points while drilling six 3-pointers, much like a Redick impersonation, while Butler had 11 points and was a minus-31 for the game. Richardson said over the summer that he wanted to “kill” the Heat and he made the most of his first opportunity in a 113-86 win.
Richardson stated:
I just saw my first couple shots go through, honestly. I was just staying aggressive, finding shots. I think the big guys were doing a good job of getting me open on screens. I think I was able to create for myself and other guys off of screens.
Richardson played four seasons with the Heat and he still has close friends with the Heat, but he maintained that it was just another game.
He added:
Yeah, being able to play against some of my best friends is always fun, but I wasn’t just super amped up or super looking froward to playing against them, but that was definitely a fun game to play…it was a little weird to see a Heat jersey that I wasn’t wearing, but I mean that’s just one of those things that you have to learn to overcome. I love those guys, I love Spo(Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, coach (Chris)Quinn was like my guy down there and the whole roster. It’s full of good guys.
This was a game where the Sixers really saw what they have in Richardson and now it’s all about the team growing off this specific game. [lawrence-related id=19949,19933,19925]