James Harden is Confident Sixers Fix Key Issues Before Playoffs

When James Harden made his Philadelphia 76ers debut coming out of the 2022 NBA All-Star break, everything was smooth sailing at first. For four-straight games,

When James Harden made his Philadelphia 76ers debut coming out of the 2022 NBA All-Star break, everything was smooth sailing at first. For four-straight games, the Sixers went unbeaten as Harden, Joel Embiid, and the rest of the team dominated the competition.

Then, the Sixers took their first post-break defeat when Harden was offered a rest night down in Miami. When Harden returned to the floor to face the Chicago Bulls last Monday, the Sixers got back in the winner's column with another victory.

But last Thursday's big game against the Brooklyn Nets was the first time the Embiid-Harden duo took on a loss. While they bounced back with an overtime win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday -- the Sixers came up short on Monday night when they faced the Denver Nuggets.

The Sixers are still in good shape, but it's clear they have a lot to work on as the playoffs approach. Considering Harden's only been playing with the team for a few weeks, there isn't a ton of time to perfect the on-court chemistry.

The ten-time All-Star understands that completely, but he's confident that time won't prevent the Sixers from ironing out their wrinkles before the postseason approaches.

"It's difficult, but it's go-time," said Harden following Monday night's loss. "We're definitely in the right direction. I think there's a couple of small things that we can correct that we can do. Now, if we didn't have a chance of doing it or we just weren't good enough, then that would be a problem. But we're more than capable and good enough to fix the problems that we have -- or the adjustments that we have. And we've got 15 games to do it."

Harden is unlikely to play in every single game down the stretch of the regular season, according to his head coach Doc Rivers. But a rest day or two shouldn't prevent Harden from gaining maximum comfort in his new system.

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