Hornets center Nick Richards out two weeks with a broken rib

Nick Richards (YouTube)

According to footboom1.com, Charlotte Hornets center Nick Richards of Kingston, Jamaica is projected to be out two weeks with a broken rib. The fifth year player has been extremely productive this season as he is averaging a double-double after five games.

The injury for Richards happened on Friday during a collision against the Boston Celtics. He has been averaging 11 points per game and 10 rebounds per game in the early going this season. Richards also has 2.4 blocks per game, 1.8 assists per game, a field goal percentage of .636, and free throw percentage of .591.

Richards’s best game this season came on October 30 in a 138-133 Hornets win over the Toronto Raptors. In 33 minutes and eight seconds of action, he scored 24 points, and added 14 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and one steal.

Charlotte is dealing with injury issues to the center position in the early going of the season. Mark Williams of Norfolk, Virginia has not played this season because of a foot injury.

The Hornets only won 21 games last season, and expectations were not high this season either. In our preseason preview, we were expecting around the same total in 2024-25.

With the injury to Richards, expect more minutes for center Taj Gibson of Brooklyn, New York. Gibson is now in his 16th season in the National Basketball Association, and averaged a career high 13 points per game while with the Chicago Bulls during the 2013-14 season.

Richards and Williams are very intimidating players as they are both at seven feet. Richards is at 245 pounds and Williams is at 240 pounds. Gibson meanwhile is a smaller player at 6’9″, 230 pounds, and has lost a step at 39 years of age.