Josh Richardson named Eastern Conference Player of the Week

Josh Richardson has been named the Easten Conference Player of the Week (for games played between January 6th to January 12th). It’s the first time in his career he’s been selected as a player of the week.

From the Sixers’ press release:

PHILADELPHIA – JAN. 13, 2020 – The NBA announced today that Josh Richardson of the Philadelphia 76ers was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played between Monday, Jan. 6 and Sunday, Jan. 12. In his fifth NBA season, and first with the 76ers, it’s Richardson’s first career Player of the Week selection.

Richardson led the 76ers to a 2-1 week, including wins over Oklahoma City and Boston, while posting a team-leading (eighth in East) 22.7 points per game. For the week, Richardson connected on better than 50-percent of his shots from the field (24-47) and scored 16-plus in each of the three contests.

Last Monday, at home against Oklahoma City, Richardson notched a team-high 23 points (9-17 FG) and added four assists as the 76ers earned a 120-113 win, snapping a 10-game home losing streak against the Thunder. He followed up on Thursday with a 29-point (9-16 FG), seven-assist outing against Atlantic Division-rival Boston, the East’s No. 2 seed. In that game, Richardson knocked down each of his career-high 10 free-throw attempts as the 76ers clinched the season series over the Celtics for the first time since 2013-14. With the pair of home victories, Philadelphia improved to 18-2 at The Center this season, the team’s best home record through 20 games since 1982-83. In the team’s final game of the week, Richardson tallied 16 points in 34 minutes at Dallas on Saturday night.

Richardson, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Miami, has appeared in 32 games (all starts) for the 76ers this season, averaging 15.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 32.1 minutes per contest. He’s scored in double figures 24 times and reached the 20-point mark on eight occasions, including twice over the past week. The former Tennessee Volunteer is the team’s first Player of the Week honoree this season and the first since Ben Simmons earned the award in March last season.

Philadelphia 76ers | @sixers

Liberty Ballers own Tom West had impeccable timing on his Sixer of the Week series, going with Richardson in his post from this morning. From Tom’s article:

Over the last 10 games, his scoring (17.5 points per game) and assists (4.2 to 2.1 turnovers) are up. His efficiency in this stretch (a mild 55.4 True Shooting Percentage) has been hurt by a three-point slump (32.1 percent), but there’s still been a noticeable difference from earlier in the season in his success creating off the dribble, both as a scorer and a passer. As the season has progressed, growing chemistry and comfort on his new team seems to be benefiting him.

[...]

One part of Richardson’s recent progression is how he’s fared with pick-and-rolls. Even though he clearly isn’t a lead shot creator or playmaker, he’s a little better in pick-and-rolls than he gets credit for sometimes. Lately, this has included his developing connection with Ben Simmons, who is finally being used more as a roll man.

[...] Along with the kind of excellent defense that he’s been providing all season, he played a huge part in the Sixers’ two wins last week