76ers ‘Hoping’ to Have James Harden Back vs. Nuggets

As James harden remains out, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers hopes to have him back for Monday's game.

For the last three games, the Philadelphia 76ers haven’t had their ten-time All-Star guard James Harden on the court. 

As Harden started battling Achilles soreness in the team’s Monday night game against the Chicago Bulls, Harden was added to the injury report ahead of their Wednesday night rematch against the Bulls on the road in Chicago.

Although he was questionable to play, Harden was ruled out for the night. On Friday, the trend continued against the Golden State Warriors. While Doc Rivers mentioned that he was hopeful Harden could make his return against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, nothing changed.

For the third-straight game, Harden was nothing more than a presence on the bench for the Sixers. Will that change on Monday when the Sixers take on the Denver Nuggets?

“I’m hoping,” Rivers said during his postgame press conference on Saturday. “Again, that’s why we bring guys on the road, but I really don’t know. I was pretty sure he wasn’t playing tonight, but I was actually pretty sure everybody else would, and D. House didn’t play tonight. I really do stay out of that more than you guys think I do.”

Although Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and De’Anthony Melton stepped up in the absence of Harden, it’s apparent the Sixers certainly miss the star guard’s playmaking ability on the floor as of late. However, there’s no sense in rushing Harden back at this stage of the season.

“As a coach, you just want guys to be healthy,” Rivers finished. “You want them to get healthy, and you don't want to coach trying to push guys to play, put any pressure on guys. We got to be healthy when it counts. If that means James doesn't play Monday, I have no qualms with that. We need him back, but we want him back for the long haul. We don’t want him in and out, especially at this point in the season.”

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.