Doc Rivers Unsure of James Harden's Injury Timeline

Over the last couple of weeks, NBA superstar James Harden has been off the court. After dealing with hamstring tightness, Harden sat out for the Brooklyn Nets’ February 4 matchup on the road against the Utah Jazz.

Harden’s absence in Utah came after a rough four-point outing against the Sacramento Kings. In addition to missing the February 4 matchup, Harden was absent for Brooklyn’s next two games. He was slated to miss his fourth-straight game as well on Thursday night.

While the ten-time All-Star was battling hamstring tightness, Harden was clearly frustrated with the Brooklyn Nets for numerous reasons. While he publicly downplayed his desire to leave Brooklyn, the rumors got louder by the day. Eventually, it became clear that Harden wanted a change, and he hoped to land with the Philadelphia 76ers.

At first, the Nets resisted the idea of sending Harden to their Eastern Conference rival, but eventually, the Sixers and the Nets got it done. Philly sent Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond, Seth Curry, and draft picks to the Nets. In exchange, Philly received Harden and Paul Millsap.

Many assumed that since Harden had his wishes granted, his hamstring would no longer be a concern. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. “I’m not a doctor,” said Sixers coach Doc Rivers. “You know, really? I mean, I don’t know. That’s the stuff I just stay out of. I’m sure we’ve done our due diligence, and obviously, health is health -- you can’t get around that. So, he and everyone is as good as their health.” 

As expected, Harden wasn’t with the Sixers on Friday when they hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder. It will be the same situation on Saturday when the Sixers take on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to a team official, Harden will make his way to Philadelphia at some point this weekend to undergo his physical. And contrary to popular belief, the team seems to have some level of concern for Harden’s hamstring issues at the moment. Therefore, they’ll take their time with Harden and currently don’t have a timetable set for his return.

“I mean, the timeline is he’ll be here soon,” Rivers finished. “As far as getting him into a game, you know, we’ve had three conversations on the phone. We haven’t even talked about that yet. So, I want to make sure he’s right before we get him on the floor.” 

With Harden out for Saturday’s game, the earliest he could return is on Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics. Soon enough, the team will offer more clarity on his eventual debut. 

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