Richardson playing through sore right wrist

MIAMI — Justise Winslow isn’t the only Heat player wearing a brace on his shooting wrist.

Josh Richardson has played with a sore right wrist for weeks. Richardson wears a brace similar to Winslow’s for support off the court, and plays with his wrist taped up.

“It’s just been real sore t h e l a s t c o u p l e we e k s , ” Richardson said of his right wrist before Tuesday’s game against the Magic. “But I got to work through it.”

A n d R i c h a r d s o n h a s worked through it for most o f t h e s e a s o n . The He a t guard said he injured his wrist during the Heat’s 98-95 loss to the Bulls on Nov. 10.

Wi n s l ow t r i e d t o p l ay through a sprained left wrist early in the season before missing 16 games with the i n j u r y. B u t R i c h a r d s o n doesn’t plan on missing time.

“Nah,” Richardson said when asked if he’s thought about sitting out to rest his right wrist. “If I c an run, then I’ll be all right.”

Richardson was in the Heat’s starting lineup for the second consecutive game Tuesday against the Magic.

Richardson made a leaguebest 53.3 percent of his shots from behind the 3-point line after the All-Star break as a rookie, but he has not been able to match that number in his second NBA season. He is shooting 39.5 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from three in 18 games this season.

Whi l e t h e 2 3 -y e a r - o l d won’t blame his shooting struggles on his sore right wrist, he doesn’t deny that it’s affecting his shot. “It’s just new, trying to shoot with tape over it and stuff,” Richardson said. “But no excuses.”

McGruder out: The Heat h a d 1 1 p l aye r s av a i l a b l e against the Magic on Tuesday. Rodney McGruder missed the game with a sprained left ankle. Wayne Ellington (strained right hamstring) and Dion Waiters (groin) also missed the contest. Winslow replaced McGruder in the starting lineup, Winslow’s f i r s t s t a r t s i n c e Nov. 14 , before he missed 16 games because of a wrist injury.

McGruder’s injury isn’t new. He originally sprained hi s l ef t ankle during t he Heat’s loss to the Hawks on Dec. 7. He played through it and didn’t miss any time.

McGruder re-aggravated t h e i n j u r y i n Mo n d a y ’s prac tice. Tuesday ’s contest marked the first game he has missed because of an injury this season. And McGruder hopes it will be the only game he misses.

“If it was up to me, I’d be trying to (play),” McGruder said before Tuesday’s game.

Hass a n Whites i de a nd Udonis Haslem are the only Heat players who have not missed a game because of an injury this season. Thirteen Heat players (including Chris Bosh) have combined to miss 115 games because of injuries over the first 29 games of the season.

Weber hot commodity: Briante Weber didn’t make the Heat’s 15-man roster to start the season. But he could be on an NBA roster soon.

The point guard, 23, is drawing attention for his play with the Heat’s NBA Development League affiliate this season. Weber is averaging 13.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and a league-leading 3.2 steals in 13 games for the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

On top of that impressive stat line, the Skyforce have outscored opponents by a combined 93 points with Weber on the floor (an important statistic for a point guard). Weber has two triple-doubles this season.

The 6-foot-2, 165-pound Weber is the No. 1 NBA prospect in the D-League’s “Prospect Watch” Top 25 rankings.

Weber is known for his defense, but he struggled offensively in his preseason tryout with the Heat. He finished the preseason with 20 turnovers to his 23 assists, and shot just 30 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from three-point range.

In Sioux Falls, Weber is shooting 39.4 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from 3-point range. Those aren’t great shooting per- centages, but he does have a solid 2.32 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Although Weber is a member of the Heat’s D-League affiliate, he can be signed by any NBA team. So, will the Heat sign Weber to an NBA contract at some point this season?

Right now, Miami’s roster is maxed out at 15 players. The Heat could have one open spot in February, though. Miami can apply for salarycap relief from Bosh’s contract starting Feb. 9 — a process that includes releasing Bosh. That would leave the Heat wi t h 14 p l aye r s a n d o n e empty slot on the 15-man roster.

T h e q u e s t i o n i s , w i l l a n o t h e r N BA t e a m s i g n Weber before that point?