The Miami Heat could be without starting two guard Josh Richardson for two weeks, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports, a substantial blow for one of five teams battling for the final three playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
Richardson, who’d missed three games with a heel injury, tweaked his groin in a Wednesday night loss to Boston and is likely to be out of action until partway through the first-round.
The injury to Richardson is the latest setback for a team that’s struggled to stay healthy all year. Now they’ll need to jostle with the likes of Orlando and Brooklyn for a postseason berth without their versatile, 16.6 point-per-game swingman.
Although Richardson’s absence will hurt, the team can take some solace in the fact that x-rays on the 25-year-old’s groin came back negative, making a return likely before the end of the year should the Heat end up sneaking into the postseason.
