Doc Rivers Isn’t Worried About James Harden’s Playing Time
James Harden made it clear going into the 2022-2023 NBA season that he was healthy and ready to embark on the season without any setbacks.
Through the Philadelphia 76ers’ first nine-game stretch, Harden averaged 37 minutes on the floor. Off to a successful start, putting up 22 points and ten assists per game, Harden looked refreshed. Unfortunately, an early setback occurred.
In the midst of the Sixers’ November 2 game against the Washington Wizards, Harden injured his foot. Although he wrapped up the game with a full 35-minute shift, Harden was clearly dealing with a setback.
The following day, an MRI revealed the All-Star guard suffered a tendon strain in his foot. He was expected to be on pace to miss a month’s worth of games. As expected, Harden missed the Sixers’ next 14 games. He made his return on December 5 to face the Houston Rockets.
Although he was expected to have a minutes restriction, Harden ended up clocking a 38-minute shift in his first set of action after recovering from his setback. The following game, he spent 47 minutes on the court in the double-overtime thriller against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Going into Wednesday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers addressed Harden’s playing time as of late. In the six games since his return, the star guard has spent an average of 40 minutes on the floor.
For a 33-year-old guard that’s coming off of an injury-riddled season and bouncing back from a month-long recovery this year, Harden’s playing time might be viewed as a concern to outsiders. However, to Rivers, the head coach is far from concerned.
“I’m not worried at all,” said Rivers. “It’s early in the year. I guarantee by the end of the year, you’ll look at the numbers, and they’ll look great. You know, it’s a whole year, and that’s why we can’t overdo things when guys have a three-week spike in minutes, and all of there sudden, we’re overreacting to that. You don’t. We’ve been low on guards, so guys have to play minutes. James is one of those guys that can handle minutes. By the end of the year, his minutes will be down.”
On Wednesday night, Harden checked into the matchup against the Detroit Pistons for 32 minutes. While Harden was on pace to have another 35-plus minute shift as he checked into the first half for over 18 minutes, the star guard got the night off early as they led by 14 points going into the fourth quarter.
After checking in for five minutes in the final quarter, Harden ended the night early. He wrapped up Wednesday’s game by draining six of his 14 shots and one free throw for 15 points. In addition, he had eight assists and two rebounds.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
