By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Sixers will be without one of their big men once again to start a season. Richaun Holmes fractured his wrist in Friday night's preseason loss to Boston during the third quarter, when he was fouled by Celtics center Aron Baynes. The Sixers were planning to re-evaluate Holmes in about three weeks, but there is some good news that surfaced today. According to Keith Pompey of the Philiadelphia Inquirer, Holmes' injury will not require surgery.
Holmes said the small fracture doesn’t require surgery and will heal on its own. So he’s receiving plenty of treatment with the intent of speeding up the recovery process.
Holmes had been competing with Jahlil Okafor and Amir Johnson for back-up minutes behind Joel Embiid. Last season, Holmes' efforts had him in the starting lineup on multiple occasions as the former second round pick emerged in the second half of the season, averaging 13.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 26 games.
The Sixers will lose some defensive depth because of Holmes' wrist fracture, but hopefully his recovery time is shorter than anticipated. Last season, Richaun averaged 9.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game primarily as a reserve player. He started 17 games, averaging 14.0 points and 7.2 rebounds in just under 29 minutes in those contests.
