PHILADELPHIA — Josh Richardson returned to the lineup for the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night after missing six games.
The former Tennessee Volunteer had been shelved due to hamstring tightness and had to sit helplessly as the 76ers (32-21) lost four consecutive games.
Or did he?
On Wednesday, Richardson, Philadelphia’s fourth leading scorer called a players-only meeting, two days after they were embarrassed by his former team, the Miami Heat, 137-106. Philadelphia fell to Milwaukee on Thursday before finally snapping the four-game skid against the Memphis Grizzlies with a 119-107 victory at home.
Richardson played sparingly as the starting guard, and the Sixers’ fourth leading scorer, logged just 15 minutes.
He scored four points and grabbed a pair of rebounds.
But the 76ers, one of the league’s most inconsistent teams who have had their share of troubles on the road this season, obviously got the message from Richardson’s meeting, although it likely took a couple of days to sink in.
Against Memphis (26-26), fellow VFL Tobias Harris, who is making big money after his contributions to the team after being acquired from the Clippers at last season’s trade deadline, scored 21 points, pulled down six rebounds and dished out five assists, continuing his solid 2019-2020 campaign.