The news of the day is that Josh Richardson will make his season debut tonight and Josh McRoberts is getting closer to an on court return. Giancarlo Navas (@gnavas103) and Alex Toledo (@TropicalBlanket) give us their their breakdown of what to expect out of the two Josh’s.

Josh McRoberts – @gnavas103

All hail the mighty McBobs!!! He’s back!! …. Kinda. He participated in full contact practice yesterday and Miami is in desperate need of help at the power forward spot. When Luke Babbit sits Miami has gone to either Justise Winslow at power forward or James Johnson. Despite Winslow playing the four not being a bad idea, the James Johnson minutes are what hurt Miami.

James Johnson is shooting 24% from the field and isn’t providing the defense that you would want when a player is giving you such poor offensive output. When James Johnson is on the floor the Heat are allowing 101.6 points per 100 possessions and when he is off the court that number shrinks to 98.4.

Justise Winslow, on the other hand, has played 32 minutes at power forward this season and the Heat have are +3.5 per 100 possessions in those 32 minutes. He is also shooting 27% on 3/11 shooting in his time and power forward.

So the addition of Josh McRoberts in the lineup would be something welcoming, last season McBobs spend almost 600 minutes on the court and Miami allowed 101.9 points per 100 possessions and in the 3371 minutes with him off the court Miami essentially had the same defensive rating as with him on the court, allowing 101.5 points per 100 possessions. McBobs is a versatile and very good help defender who can help Miami initiate the offense when Dragic isn’t on the floor. His eventual return would be welcoming for the HEAT.

Josh Richardson – @TropicalBlanket

In the second half of last season, Richardson was an absolute revelation. In about 29 minutes a night, J-Rich averaged 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal on 50% shooting from the field and an outstanding 53% from three, which was number one in the league in that time span, while also sporting a 7.9 Net Rating and a 62.2 True Shooting percentage. This looks even more impressive when you consider that Jorts was putting up 2 points, 1 assist, and 1 rebound per game on 26% shooting from the field and 20% from three in 11 minutes a game pre-All-Star break last season.

Now, especially after the departure of D-Wade and the absence of Chris Bosh , Josh Richardson is going to be vital to this team. He is one of the few young building blocks of this team with him and Justise Winslow serving as the franchise’s young centerpieces. Having him back means having another good player in the rotation, which can’t be overstated, and more importantly, Dion Waiters might not remain in the starting lineup soon.

Richardson brings freak athleticism, lethal shooting, excellent tools and general activity on defense, (especially in the passing lanes), while also working to steadily improving his playmaking. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he became one of the team’s focal points on the offensive side of the ball just after Dragic, Whiteside and Winslow. Getting Josh back is an important re-acquisition for this team, not only for the short-term, (I’m not so sure he’ll get steady minutes tonight, though) but also for the long-term. Embrace, people. #WeTheJorts