Perkins: Q's Change Remarkable
By: Chris Perkins Last Updated: 11/10/09 12:43 PM ET | 1679 times read
Adjust font size:You'd have to see Quentin Richardson to believe the change. It's amazing.
The fact that the formerly pudgy Richardson, the Miami HEAT's starting small forward, has lost 25 pounds and now appears slender would be remarkable enough on its own. But consider with only a training camp and six regular season games under his belt, Richardson is becoming a team leader on a squad with a 5-1 record, second-best in the East.
And even more impressively, Richardson, known mostly for raining three-pointers during his nine-year career, is earning that role by playing good defense.
"He has a defensive maturity and rebounding maturity that I don't remember seeing in his past years," Denver coach George Karl said. Richardson, curiously enough, said he's developed as a defender with the HEAT because he's being schooled in Miami's strict defensive system.
"The defensive schemes at first were a little difficult," Richardson said. "I came from a place (New York) where it was completely opposite. We (the HEAT) force baseline and things like that. We never did that at previous places I was at. We never really had principles and things like that."
Richardson will get one of his biggest tests of the season Tuesday night when he defends Washington's Caron Butler. Butler had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five turnovers in Miami's 93-89 victory at Washington last week. But after that game Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas called out Butler publicly, telling him to be more aggressive offensively.
Since then Butler has scored 24 and 19 points in losses against Indiana and Phoenix, respectively. Expect Butler to come out balling Tuesday night. And expect Richardson to be up for the challenge.
"He's a competitive guy," HEAT coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He's tough, he has a great disposition defensively, and I think with the weight he's lost he's showing he can guard multiple positions."
Richardson, of course, was traded four times during the off-season - from New York to Memphis, then Memphis to the Los Angeles Clippers, then from the Clippers to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and finally from the T-Wolves to the HEAT. A $9.3 million expiring contract makes you a popular man. However, Richardson seems to have found a home in Miami alongside good friends Dwyane Wade and forward Dorell Wright.
Go beyond Richardson's season averages of 10.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and look at what he's done in his last three games. Richardson has scored in double digits in each of those games (Phoenix, Washington and Denver) while grabbing at least nine rebounds in each game. He's still firing up three-pointers, but through six games he's hitting a career-best .433 (13-for-30).
Still, the impressive stuff is Richardson's defense.
"You know every night he's going to bring his toughness and he's going to guard the other team's best player," Wade said. "There are going to be nights where guys are going to score points, but they aren't going to be easy points. He wants that challenge and that's great for this team."
11/11/2009 9:17 AM
have Marc Iavaroni in PHX? IIRC, PHX was always in the middle of the pack defensively even though the only really good defensive players they had were Rajah Bell and Shawn Marion.