76ers vs. Raptors: James Harden’s Playing Status on Saturday

Will James Harden face the Raptors on Saturday?

When the Philadelphia 76ers return to the court on Saturday night to face the Toronto Raptors, not much will change on the availability front for the Sixers’ ten-time All-Star, James Harden.

As expected, the veteran ball-handler did not make the trip to Toronto and is ruled out for Saturday night’s matchup officially on the team’s injury report.

Earlier this week, the Sixers participated in a morning practice session before hitting the road to Fiserv Forum for their season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks. To the Sixers’ surprise, Harden showed up with intentions of practicing and traveling for the team’s opening night game.

After being told to stay back on multiple occasions, according to reports, Harden ultimately did not travel with the 76ers to Milwaukee. Instead, the team put a plan in place to have Harden hang back at the practice facility with the team’s developmental players and staff, where he’ll ramp up his conditioning after spending more than a week away from the team. 

The Sixers went toe-to-toe with the Bucks, utilizing a starting backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and De’Anthony Melton. In the absence of Harden, Maxey had a stellar evening, taking over playmaking duties by scoring a team-high 31 points and dishing out eight assists while not turning the ball over once in 40 minutes of action.

Tyrese Maxey Passes First Test vs. Bucks

While Maxey had a standout performance on a solo level, it wasn’t enough to will the Sixers past the Bucks for a comeback victory. Although Philadelphia trailed as many as 19 points early on in the game, they managed to get out in front later in the matchup. However, in the end, the Bucks closed the game out with a 118-117 victory over the Sixers.

On Saturday night, the Sixers will fire up their first back-to-back of the season. Once again, Harden won’t be around and will miss his first stretch of consecutive games for the Sixers since the final two outings of the 2022-2023 regular season. 

Whether Harden will get a chance to re-join his teammates for a matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday or not becomes the next big question surrounding the disgruntled guard.