Josh Richardson
By: Jonathan Geib
Josh Richardson, also known as “Coach J Rich”, has spent close to a quarter of the games on the injury report this season. As the old saying goes, the best ability is availability and the Sixers have subscribed to that mindset as seen with the load management of Joel Embiid to ensure his health for the playoffs.
“Therefore, his New Year’s resolution must be staying healthy and increasing his on-court time in 2020.”
Richardson on the other hand does not need the rest. As a new addition to this team, the most important thing for Richardson is building chemistry with the starting lineup, especially his backcourt mate, Ben Simmons. Therefore, his New Year’s resolution must be staying healthy and increasing his on-court time in 2020.
Additionally, Richardson needs to add consistency to his New Year’s resolution list. We have seen the scoring potential Richardson has with his 32-point performance versus his former team, the Miami Heat. However, that seems to be the exception rather than the rule for him as he has only eclipsed the 20-point mark 5 times so far this season.
Richardson is not expected to match the scoring ability of Jimmy Butler from last season, but he needs to be more consistent when he is healthy and on the court. Simmons’ scoring ebbs and flows and having two guards with such variable scoring performances is not sustainable for a team with championship aspirations.