03-31-2021, 12:27 PM
(03-31-2021, 12:03 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: See, you might be right about the above, but this is the part I'm not ready to call yet, personally. I would lean the other way, if anything. I'm not buying the idea that Richardson is a better defender than DFS, myself. Like @"Kammrath" said really well the other day, Richardson's game seems to be about creating a lot frenetic movement, which might appear to the eye as effective play, but in reality he seems to be out of position a LOT to me. Maybe I'm letting emotional bias creep into this, but my goal would be to keep an open mind until the end of the season.
Another factor, imo, is size and length. They're all wings, but DFS is uncommonly long for guys as quick and nimble as he is, defensively. That's something that neither Richardson nor THJ can offer (though neither is exactly size challenged) and I think it gets taken for granted a lot around here.
I think Richardson has a similar versatility as a defender, its just one position down. He can guard 1-3 where DFS can guard 2-4. They are both good (but not lockdown) defenders whos best attribute is their versatility. Jrich can chase around 1s, and not get abused when switched onto wings. We don't have anyone else on the roster that can do that.
As far as waiting until the end of the season, I agree as there is no other option. Like most, I have been disappointed with Richardson so far, and I am very curious to see how he ends the season. Hopefully we will get at least one full playoff series to assess the impact he makes there.