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Tuesday was a rough night on Charlotte Bobcats guard Jason Richardson’s body.
First, he needed five stitches to close a gash above his right eye, after catching an elbow from Denver Nuggets center Nene. Then he woke up in the middle of the night with swelling and pain in his right knee.
Though doctors found no structural damage, Richardson will miss Friday’s home game against the Utah Jazz and is doubtful for Sunday’s home game against the Orlando Magic.
“They did an MRI and didn’t see any structural damage, but just to be safe, Dr. (Glenn) Perry wanted a scope (exploratory surgery) to see if they missed something, and I don’t think they missed something,’’ coach Larry Brown told the Observer following an optional practice Wednesday.
“He won’t play Friday, and we’ll see what happens after that.’’
Richardson wasn’t available for comment, but team officials don’t believe Richardson did anything specific against the Nuggets to aggravate his knee. He has experienced some inflammation in that joint since training camp.
Richardson is the Bobcats’ leading scorer at 17.6 points per game, and averages more than 42 minutes per game. It sounds like no one player will absorb most of those minutes.
“The way I always look at it, if somebody gets hurt, it gives other guys a chance. Hopefully it’s not a long thing, because you know how good we feel J-Rich is and how much he means,’’ Brown said.
“But maybe this will give Shannon (Brown) a chance, or give Adam (Morrison) a little more time or Matt (Carroll). We’ll just see.’’
Brown said he hasn’t decided who should start at shooting guard in Richardson’s absence. Since there’s no one obvious candidate, that might be determined by who would best match up against the Jazz’s lineup.
