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After Missing Warriors Matchup, Could James Harden Face Suns?

After missing Friday's game in Golden State, James Harden's status against the Suns is in question.
Justin Grasso|
After Missing Warriors Matchup, Could James Harden Face Suns?
After Missing Warriors Matchup, Could James Harden Face Suns?

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Philadelphia 76ers

Lately, Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden has been battling a minor setback. Following the Sixers’ Monday night double-overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers revealed that Harden was “hurting” during the matchup.

The ten-time All-Star played in over 40 minutes on Monday. After the game, it was clear Harden wasn’t one hundred percent. Eventually, the Sixers listed the star guard as questionable with Achilles soreness for their Wednesday night battle against the Bulls on the road.

For the second time in three games, Harden missed a matchup. After Wednesday’s win over the Bulls, Doc Rivers addressed the state of Harden’s setback.

“We don’t want him playing if it’s sore,” said the head coach. “So, if it's sore enough, we still won’t play him on Friday. We’re at that point — like if it was probably earlier in the year — everybody still played. We’ve gone into the playoffs two years in a row with injuries. We all learned, we all know that you don’t win in the playoffs if your key guys aren’t healthy. Period. So, we’re going to do whatever we can to be healthy.”

The Sixers hoped to get Harden back against the Golden State Warriors on Friday, listing him as questionable. However, Harden got the night off. His absence on Friday marked the first time Harden missed consecutive matchups since he was out for a month’s worth of action due to a tendon strain in his foot earlier in the year. 

Before Friday’s game tipped off, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers left the door open for Harden’s potential return on Saturday when the Sixers pay a visit to the Phoenix Suns.

Based on Rivers’ prediction, it seems there is a chance he will miss three-straight games this weekend. As the Sixers don’t want to take any long-term risks with playoffs approaching, there’s no sense in rushing Harden back out on the floor if he’s not fully healthy.

Harden will likely approach Saturday’s game in Phoenix as a game-time decision. The Sixers and the Suns are set to tip-off at 10 PM ET. 

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

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s Philadelphia 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia Threads: @JGrassoMedia

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