James Harden Doesn't Plan to Rest vs. Heat on Monday

The last time the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Miami Heat, the Sixers were coming off of the first matchup of a back-to-back set of games. After taking down the

The last time the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Miami Heat, the Sixers were coming off of the first matchup of a back-to-back set of games. After taking down the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 4, the Sixers took a flight down to South Beach later that night as they were set to play the Heat hours later.

James Harden, who has battled hamstring tightness throughout the year, got the night off on March 5. Although the Sixers could've used Harden's services against the Eastern Conference's top seed, the star guard had a planned rest night.

That matchup against the Heat was the last time Harden rested. After he made his return to the court two nights later to compete against the Chicago Bulls, Harden played in every game moving forward, including a back-to-back set of games against the Orlando Magic and the Denver Nuggets last week.

Sunday's game against the Toronto Raptors marked the seventh-straight game Harden played in since his rest night in Miami. With the Heat back in town to face the Sixers coming off of another back-to-back on Monday night, many wondered if Harden would take another rest night or not.

Following Philadelphia's disappointing Sunday night loss against the Raptors, Harden indicated that he planned to keep the ball rolling on Monday. "That's the plan," said Harden after the game. "I plan on playing."

Knowing he doesn't have a ton of time left in the regular season to build on-court chemistry with his new teammates, Harden stresses that he needs all the playing time he can get before the games matter the most in the postseason.

While Harden also understands that rest will go a long way as he needs to be fresh for the playoffs, the star guard mentioned that he's been feeling fine physically lately.

"I'm good," he explained. "What is this, 12 games for me? Or really like 10 or 11, I'm just trying to keep my pace and my energy up. It's a lot of minutes, and I'm trying to produce and get to the basket and just try to be involved in mostly every possession. I feel good for now. Just gotta keep going, keep working on every single possession and make sure I'm involved, which comes with cardio and just being on the court and being active on every possession."

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