Philadelphia 76ers Center Richaun Holmes Out at least Three Weeks with a Fractured Wrist
It appears that the Philadelphia 76ers will have to give Amir Johnson and Jahlil Okafor more playing time at the start of the season because Richaun Holmes is going to be sidelined for several weeks with a wrist injury.
The Sixers have announced that Holmes has been diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture in his left wrist and he will be re-evaluated in approximately three weeks. That means he has to sit out the first few weeks of the season.
The third-year center hurt his wrist in the third quarter of their preseason game against the Boston Celtics last Friday.
In 57 games (17 starts) last season, Holmes averaged 9.8 points and 5.5 rebounds while playing 20.9 minutes a game. He showed a lot of promise in the second half of the 2016–17 campaign and he was expected to see significant minutes off the bench as Joel Embiid's primary backup at center this year.
The Sixers don't have to panic, though, because Johnson is more than capable of backing up Embiid. The veteran big man is coming off a relatively down year with the Boston Celtics, but he has always been a solid rebounder and post defender.
Okafor will get the chance to work his way back into the rotation as well, but his style of play just doesn't fit in Sixers head coach Brett Brown's system. Still, he may draw some trade interest if he performs well while Holmes is out.
Holmes' injury shouldn't hurt the Sixers early on. It will also give them the opportunity to showcase Okafor to potential trading partners.
"The loss of a key bench contributor in Holmes is obviously unfortunate, but the injury doesn't seem to be a longterm issue. Johnson is more than a suitable replacement, and if the uptick in allotted minutes for Okafor helps the team find a better deal for him, it's a win-win for all parties," Jake Pavorsky said in his report for NJ Advance Media.
