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Heat’s Josh Richardson on drawing NBA flopping focus, ‘I think it’s terrible’

ira winderman, south florida sun-sentinel
·4 min read
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MIAMI — Josh Richardson is tired of getting pushed around. The Miami Heat guard is getting even more tired of being told it’s his fault.

For the third time this season, Richardson on Friday was cited for a flopping violation, this time in the 111-99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Kaseya Center. The irony is that the call came on the same day he was fined $2,000 for what the NBA cited as an uncalled flopping violation two nights earlier in Toronto.

It has reached the point where Richardson no longer can take it falling down.

“I don’t know,” he said of becoming a flopping focus. “I’m not usually one to worry about refs or comment on refs. But I think all three of my flopping calls were terrible. I think that they’re just not doing a very good job of being realistic.”

Richardson was first cited for a flopping violation in the Nov. 3 home victory over the Washington Wizards, when he took a shoulder from veteran forward Danilo Gallinari while setting a screen.

“I think my first call,” he said, “I was setting a screen on an inbound pass, I was set, I got pushed up five steps, with two hands in the chest, and I fell and I got a flopping call.”

That resulted in a technical foul and free throw for the Wizards.

Then came Wednesday against the Raptors at Scotiabank Arena, a play that was not cited in real time, with Richardson instead fined $2,000 after the fact.

“My second one,” Richardson said, “I’m guarding Scottie (Barnes) in Toronto, who’s a good player. I was into him, just a straight-arm and he’s 40 pounds heavier than me, so obviously I’m going to fall. It’s tough.”

Then came Friday night, which resulted in a technical foul called by referee Karl Lane and a free throw for the Cavaliers, as Richardson was attempting to pressure Cavaliers guard Darius Garland.

“I’m running at full speed in one direction and I get a shoulder to the chest, so obviously I’m going to fall,” Richardson said. “So I don’t understand. And Karl made the call from 40 feet away from the play.”

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Among the assignments for Richardson, 30, in this Heat reunion tour has been to pressure fullcourt, a mandate he continually has fulfilled — while also catching the attention of the league.

“So I don’t know what it is,” he said. “Maybe I just need to start running people over and stop falling, or do something. But I don’t know. I think it’s terrible.”

New heights

As has been the case in the past, opponents again have begun turning to height in an attempt to counter the scoring of Heat forward Jimmy Butler.

That was the approach of the Cavaliers in the latter stages of Friday night’s game, when they put 6-foot-9 center Tristan Thompson on Butler, in a game Butler closed 5 of 15 from the field. The Indiana Pacers took a similar approach against 6-7 Butler in a victory a week earlier at Kaseya Center.

Butler declined comment after Friday’s game, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra addressed the tactic.

“That’s like there was a period of time where teams were playing centers on Giannis (Antetokounmpo), to try to get more size and take away some easy baskets,” Spoelstra said, “And then that started to become a bad thing. So I’m sure teams are calculating, trying to get bigger bodies on Jimmy so he doesn’t get easy baskets.”

Spoelstra said the key is not to overreact.

“It’s a super-small sample size,” he said, with the Heat now idle until Monday night’s road game against the Charlotte Hornets. “I feel like we’re going to be able to like manage that.

“And it’s good to go through a bunch of different things. He’s at that level now where people are throwing a bunch of different things at him. He’s used to it. We’re used to it.”

Waiting game

With Bam Adebayo (hip), Tyler Herro (ankle) and Haywood Highsmith (back) again out against the Cavaliers, Spoelstra went with an eight-player rotation Friday, given the benefit of the following two days off.

For the Heat, it was not a case of strength in lack of numbers.

“We need to get healthy,” said backup center Kevin Love, who closed with 14 points and a season-high 12 rebounds against his former team. “We’ve kind of been struggling with a little battle of attrition right now, guys in and out of the lineup.”