For the first time in over two years, Jason Richardson was a full participant in Sixers practice yesterday. The last time he took the floor for practice, he was surrounded by Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes and Thaddeus Young. Now, Richardson finds himself in the mix with a completely different team as one of the only veterans.
Richardson has not played in an NBA game since January 18th, 2013 due to lingering left knee issues, but the 34-year-old forward anticipates being able to get back on the court potentially as soon as tomorrow.
"Personally, as a competitor, I definitely want to play on Friday," Richardson told reporters. "It’s all up to how my knee responds. We’ll see how it is [Thursday]. I’ll go through another practice, and then see what the coaching staff and training staff have in mind." [Sixers.com]
"I feel great," Richardson said. "It is great to be finally moving and playing five-on-five. It's been a long time coming, and it felt great to get through a whole practice." [CBSSports.com]
Richardson played in 33 games for the Sixers before getting hurt and averaged 10.5 points per game. Over his 12 seasons in the league, he's averaging 17.3 points and five rebounds per game. The other veteran presence on the Sixers has been Luc Mbah a Moute. He has performed well during his time in Philadelphia, averaging a career high in points with ten per game. Mbah a Moute seemed excited to have another veteran on the floor with him during practice.
"It’s good to have him back," said 28-year-old forward Luc Mbah a Moute. "It was good to have a veteran out there. It’s tough sometimes when I’m by myself out there. I try to get the guys to play the right way, and sometimes when I say some stuff they say, ‘Yeah Luc, we’ve heard you the whole season.
“Jason has been good in the locker room and on the bench, but to have him on the floor will be really good for the team." [Sixers.com]
If you can't quite remember was Richardson is capable of, perhaps we can refresh your memory…
The Sixers return to action for the first time since February 9th tomorrow night as they host the Pacers at 7PM. The teams last met on January 10th, when Michael Carter-Williams hit the go-ahead shot with 10 seconds remaining. The Sixers took that one in thrilling fashion, 93-92.
