Philadelphia 76ers guard Josh Richardson suffered a left hamstring strain in the first quarter of Wednesday’s 107-95 loss to the Toronto Raptors. He did not return to that game and had an MRI on Thursday, which The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports revealed Richardson has a slight left hamstring strain and will be out two to three weeks.
MRI on 76ers guard Josh Richardson showed slight strain of left hamstring and he’s expected to be re-evaluated in two-to-three weeks, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 23, 2020
“He’s a big part of this team defensively and offensively, so we’re going to miss him for however long he’s out,” Sixers guard Ben Simmons said after Wednesday’s game.
Richardson had scored 15 or more points in seven of the past eight games, He did not speak to reporters following the game, but the team said he will be re-evaluated Thursday. Richardson, who is averaging 15.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists, missed six games in late November and early December because of a right hamstring injury.
The Sixers are already without star center Joel Embiid, who has missed eight straight games after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left hand.
Philadelphia connected on seven of 14 attempts from beyond the arc in the first quarter vs. Toronto, but just 11 of 32 the rest of the way. After making 14 field goals in the first, the Sixers had 18 in the final three quarters combined.
“Even with guys out we still had a chance to be in this game and get a win,” forward Tobias Harris said. “Give them credit, they did a really good job after the first quarter defending us.”
Since Embiid suffered his injury in a Jan. 6 win against Oklahoma City, Philadelphia has gone 5-3, scoring notable wins against the Brooklyn Nets (twice) and the Boston Celtics. Philadelphia is 29-17 and the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, but is just three games behind the Miami Heat for No. 2 seed.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
