BBNBA: Richards, Washington and Hornets outlast Atlanta

by:Eric Decker•12/06/21•

Edecker17

bbnba-richards-washington-and-the-hornets-outlast-atlanta — (Photo by Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images)

It might’ve been the lightest night of the season so far in terms of former Wildcats in the NBA. With only four games being played in total, Nick Richards and P.J. Washington were the only ones we had to pay attention to. Let’s go.

Richards grabs another start in Win

I’ll go out on a limb and say that roughly 0% percent of us imagined Nick Richards would get a starting nod before the calendar turned to 2022. The next step for the center is getting more than 10 minutes on the floor as a starter. Richards was given his first career nod last week against the Bulls due to a litany of injuries on Charlotte’s roster. He only played six minutes and scored two points off of some free throws, but at least it was a start.

.@iamnickrichards with the put back SLAM! 💥#AllFly | @HornetsOnBally pic.twitter.com/J1gjnq24LA
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) December 5, 2021

Richards was relegated back to the bench against the Bucks before getting the starting nod again last night. Just like it was a week ago, Nick only played seven minutes while scoring two points. I’m not entirely sure what James Borrego’s plan is with this one. Maybe he just wants someone tall for the jump-ball and that’s it. Either way, Nick Richards is now sometimes starting in the NBA.

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P.J. Washington double-double off the bench

Washington has comfortably found his way back into the Hornets rotation ever since coming back from an elbow injury a couple of weeks ago. While he’s been coming off the bench recently, he’s still putting up productive numbers.

In the 130-127 win, Washington played 38 minutes off the bench and poured in 13 points on 4-9 shooting. He also grabbed 11 rebounds and had a couple of steals.

Player	Result	Points	FG (3PA)	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks	TOs	Mins	+/-
P.J. Washington (CHA)	130-127 W @ ATL	13	4-9 (1-4)	11	1	2	1	3	38	17
Nick Richards (CHA)	130-127 W @ ATL	2	1-1	3	0	0	1	0	7	-8