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76ers: Josh Richardson's Big Game Earned a Day Off vs. Suns

Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Josh Richardson will sit out against the Suns after having a big game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Justin Grasso

Philadelphia 76ers starting shooting guard Josh Richardson is out against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night. Don't worry, though, the veteran guard isn't dealing with any setback. Instead, Richardson is getting a rest day.

After seeing Richardson's performance on Sunday night, a day off could be considered well-deserved. Heading into the game against the Blazers, the Sixers were already missing a key starter in Ben Simmons.

Then not even seven minutes into the matchup, Joel Embiid left the good for good as he dealt with an ankle injury. That left it up to players such as Tobias Harris, Al Horford, Shake Milton, and Richardson to put the shorthanded team on their backs and lead as the starters.

Harris and Horford had a solid game -- but nobody stood out more than Josh Richardson on Sunday. In a first half full of low-percentage shooting from the field, Richardson was a lone standout as he knocked down six of his eight shots, burying both of his attempting threes for a total of 16 points.

As a whole, the Sixers began to bounce back as a team in the second half, but Richardson's big game continued. He ended up finishing Sunday night's game against the Blazers with a season-high of 34 points. Although the Sixers failed to overcome the Blazers while shorthanded, Philly's head coach Brett Brown was quite pleased with a few of his players' performances -- especially Richardson's.

In order to avoid any further setbacks before the 2020 NBA Playoffs, the 76ers are going to play it safe over the next three games. Embiid will miss Tuesday's game along with Richardson, while Horford and Harris' status against the Suns is also up in the air. Richardson will be a healthy scratch on Tuesday but could be back in business for Wednesday's game against the Raptors. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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