Sixers' Richardson at 34: 'I still got a lot to give'

BOSTON - He's 34 with a bad left knee. In basketball dog years that combination usually means closing in on rocking-chair time.

But 76ers guard Jason Richardson, who's been sidelined since January 2013, makes it sound like this won't be his final season.

"I still got a few years left," said Richardson, who is in the final year of his contract. "Two years off that helps your body. That's two years I'm not playing 90 games with the preseason games [included]. I think I have a few years left in me."

After the kneecap injury, Richardson suffered a stress fracture in his right foot in October while rehabilitating his left knee.

Richardson hopes to return to action against the Indiana Pacers at Wells Fargo Center on Feb. 20. That's the first game for the Sixers following the all-star break.

The original plan was to get him back on the court before the break, which runs from Tuesday through Feb. 19. However, the team wants Richardson to participate in five-on-five scrimmages before playing. Furthermore, practice time has been hard to come by with the Sixers playing 21 games in the last 37 days.

Richardson said he could have played in Friday night's game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. He also feels that he's capable of playing when the Sixers entertain the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday and the Golden State Warriors on Monday at Wells Fargo Center.

"But I think it's just better for me to wait probably that first game after the All-Star Game," he said. "That would give me a week to probably get some cardio in with my personal trainer out in Denver. And then we will get a couple of practices before we play [the Pacers]."

The former Michigan State standout said the stress fracture is completely healed. But his knee comes and goes. So he makes sure that he spends plenty of time warming up and does a lot of stretching before hitting the court.

Richardson doesn't expect to compete on back-to-back nights once he returns. He thinks he'll be able to play 15, 20 or 25 minutes depending on the situation.

"I still can shoot the ball," Richardson said of his expected role. "I can defend a little bit. I can do anything it takes to help these young guys out in little situations. I think I still got a lot to give."

That's part of the reason why he's working hard to come back.

Richardson realizes there are no guarantees that he'll play with the Sixers or any other team past this season.

"But for me, just being who I am, the hard worker that I am, to prove everybody wrong that my career is not over [is his motivation]," he said. "I'm still capable of playing. I'm not going to be the same 25-, 26-, 27-year-old Jason Richardson."

Richardson knows that his game has changed. But he'll tell you that it has evolved over the years.

"My athleticism may be gone," Richardson said. "I'm not jumping as high. But I still have other skill sets."

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