Another injury: Key member of Charlotte Hornets’ rotation to be sidelined for weeks
It’s Groundhog Day in November.
Nick Richards, who had been starting at center for the Charlotte Hornets in place of the injured Mark Williams, is out for at least the next two weeks with a cartilage fracture in his first rib underneath his right clavicle, the team announced Tuesday. Richards hurt his shoulder in Friday night’s loss to the Boston Celtics and an MRI revealed the fracture.
Richards will be reevaluated “every other week,” the Hornets said, making it uncertain when the big man will return. The news is another blow to a franchise hoping to hit the reset button on an issue that plagued the Hornets for the past few seasons.
Instead, injuries besieged Charlotte again even before training camp began last month, and Richards’ shoulder is the most recent ailment threatening to derail the Hornets’ season before the calendar even flips to December. He got banged up in the first half against the Celtics and didn’t play in the second half, sitting on the bench with a huge ace bandage wrapped around some ice in an attempt to keep the swelling down.
Richards’ injury continues a troublesome trend for the Hornets, who just welcomed Brandon Miller back Saturday night after the second-year swingman missed four games with a strained left glute. Williams strained a tendon in his left foot and was in a walking boot for a couple of weeks.
He just recently began doing basketball activities, slowly ramping up his activity levels, but has yet to start full team drills or five-on-five scrimmaging.
Without Richards and Williams, the Hornets (2-5) are extremely thin on their frontline heading into Wednesday’s matchup against Detroit, and coach Charles Lee will have to mix and match things at the position, juggling a rotation of Grant Williams, Moussa Diabate, Taj Gibson and rookie Tidjane Salaün.
Before getting hurt, Richards was one of three players in the NBA this season averaging at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks per game, putting him in the company of Los Angeles Lakers’ star Anthony Davis and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama.
“Nick has been a big part of what we’ve done these first five games. I’ve been very happy with him and his ability to kind of dominate the paint,” coach Charles Lee said Saturday. “He’s altered a lot of shots and I think he’s helping us with his pick-and-roll coverage and understanding the different gaps to be in in center field and create some indecision for ball-handlers.
“He’s done a great job defensively, and then offensively, he’s created a ton of advantages for all of our scorers, all of our ball-handlers. He’s one of our main guys that’s been one of those relentless offensive rebounders. It’s helped benefit him and also led to kickout threes for us, too. It’s an unfortunate loss.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 4:58 PM.
