The Sixers have lost another one of their starters due to an injury, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Josh Richardson has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain. Richardson is expected to be re-evaluated in two or three weeks, per Charania.
Philadelphia had already been playing without center Joel Embiid, who has been sidelined since January 6 due to a finger injury. Embiid has made progress in his recovery and seems likely to return before Richardson does, but for now it looks like the team will be down two starters.
It will be a test of the 76ers’ depth, with players like Furkan Korkmaz, Matisse Thybulle, and James Ennis among the candidates to see increased roles in Richardson’s absence.
Richardson, who ranks third on the team with 31.5 minutes per game, has contributed 15.0 PPG, 3.4 APG, and 3.3 RPG with solid perimeter defense in his first year as a Sixer. He suffered his hamstring injury during the first quarter of Wednesday’s loss to Toronto.
Even if Richardson is re-evaluated two weeks from today and is deemed ready to return at that point, he won’t be back on the court prior to the trade deadline, so any moves Philadelphia makes by February 6 will be have to be completed without the team seeing its fully healthy roster in action again.
Our best shooter. And that’s not saying much. Injury bug buts Philly again.
Bites*
GSW is waiting for Feb6 for the best offer on Burks? Probably a number of teams are waiting even if they have a good offer.
They won’t get anything more than a 2nd round pick.
Just gives the Sixers an excuse to continue to under perform their talent, and, who knows, an excuse to double down on their d/a views. If they just played regular basketball, they’d be right there with the Bucks.
They’re by far the most likely to get ousted in the first round among the top 6 teams in the east, more than Indiana or Toronto.