Miami would announce before Saturday’s game against Charlotte that centers Kevin Love and rookie Kel’el Ware would miss the outing due to personal reasons and an illness respectively. Richardson however was upgraded to “questionable” where originally, he would be ruled out like he was during multiple preseason games.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra would speak during shoot-around before the game against the Hornets about his recovery and how he is doing. The biggest aspect Spoelstra touched on is that Richardson is on a positive trajectory recovering from last season’s shoulder surgery and heel issue according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald taken from an interview with Jason Jackson.

“He’s making progress,” Spoelstra said of Richardson. “So I’m encouraged by it. I know he is, as well. Don’t have a specific date, but he’s practicing and he’s doing everything right now.”

Richardson is a veteran in the NBA where he started his career with the Heat after being drafted out of the University of Tennessee in the second round with the 40th overall pick in 2015. He played with Miami for four seasons before being a part of the sign and trade with the Philadelphia 76ers to acquire Jimmy Butler where he played for five teams after his original spot.

Heat’s Josh Richardson spoke about “unfinished business”

He would be re-signed by the Heat before the 2023-24 season in a reunion, but it was cut short due to the aforementioned shoulder injury suffered on Feb. 11 against the Boston Celtics which would require season-ending surgery. Richardson would say there is definitely some “unfinished business” for this season per Chiang of The Miami Herald.

“I think that there’s kind of some unfinished business from last year for myself,” Richardson said. “Being able to see how long that form lasts that I was finding.”

“I’ve never gone through anything this serious,” Richardson continued on the recovery back in July. “So it sucks to have to sit down for four months and not be able to do a whole lot. But it’s baby steps, trying to pace myself and not to get too ahead of myself or down. Because I can’t wake up one day and be able to do everything again. But I’m excited to be on the road back.”

As the Heat prepare for a loaded Eastern Conference, they are going to need every productive player possible which Richardson provides off the bench. However, people could be concerned if part of his game could be limited now due to all the injuries as he had a slow recovery process that included limiting where he can even shoot from back in July.

“I’ve had three days on the court now,” Richardson said of his workouts to get back on track for the upcoming Heat season. “I’m shooting like midranges. That’s the farthest I can shoot. I’m shooting little floaters here and there, but I can’t shoot threes yet. But it’s good for me because I can kind of break my shot down and work it back up from the bones.”

Heat’s Josh Richardson spoke about the team’s problems with injuries

Last season with the Heat, Richardson averaged 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from beyond the arch. The most frustrating part was for Richardson that before that Feb. 11 game where he suffered the injury, he was starting to gain a rhythm as in last six games he was averaging just over 13 points per game, 4.2 rebounds and two assists per game.

“I feel like every year when I play here, even the first time, I start playing my best basketball the back half of the season,” Richardson said. “I feel like that was just what was happening and it’s unfortunate that it got cut short like that.”

As fans know well, Miami had a major injury problem the past few years, especially last season where key players such as Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson, Kevin Love, and more missed a significant amount of time. While Spoelstra guaranteed that to be better for the Heat this time around, the team themselves feel they had potential with more consistency.

“It sucks because you know the potential that we had,” Richardson said. “We were like, what, three games out of the No. 4 seed? I mean, it’s like down the stretch when your rotation guys and best player gets hurt, it’s like what could have been.”

Heat’s Josh Richardson looking to stay healthy and make an impact

Richardson returned to the Heat as he opted in to his $3 million player option where before, his original contract to the Heat was a minimum where he even admitted he could of went elsewhere for more. Still, he would talk about how Miami is his home and he felt more comfortable here than anywhere else.

“Nobody wants to play on a minimum, to be honest,” Richardson said. “But yeah, I had offers when I came back for more. But it’s kind of the crib. So it’s one of those things that you’re kind of like, what’s important?”

Now, Richardson seems to be on the brink of coming back to the lineup to give immediate production for Spoelstra and the rest of his team.

“Hopefully this season I can find that form for longer and play like I know I can play and make them pay me,” Richardson said.

After last Wednesday’s opening loss by the Heat to the Magic, they need as much firepower so the team can’t wait for Richardson to come back. His status for Saturday’s game is still in question where the next opportunity will be at home Monday night against the Detroit Pistons.