James Harden Feels Great Before 76ers' Playoff Battle vs. Nets

During the final stretch of the 2022-2023 NBA season, Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden battled with Achilles soreness. From the start of March until the season finale, Harden missed eight games, including the season's final two games.

It seemed Harden’s setback wasn’t severe, and his last couple of nights off were more precautionary than anything. Based on Doc Rivers’ assessment of how the star guard has looked at practice, it’s clear that Harden is in good shape heading into the NBA Playoffs after taking so much time off

“Probably a lot,” said Rivers when asked how beneficial the time off was for Harden. “I don’t know, I think he feels good and pretty healthy coming into the week anyway. Getting all of those days off, but definitely, I think everyone health-wise feels good, and that’s a good thing for us.”

When Harden addressed the media shortly after Rivers, the star guard confirmed he was feeling great heading into Game 1 on Saturday.

This year’s postseason is much different for Harden. After he played in just 21 games for the Sixers during the second half of the regular season following a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, Harden was also hampered by hamstring issues.

During his first playoff run with the Sixers, the ten-time All-Star guard averaged 19 points and nine assists in 12 games of action. It was evident down the stretch of the second round that Harden was dealing with physical limitations.

This time around, Harden is coming off a full season with the 76ers. While he battled a foot injury early in the year and dealt with Achilles soreness in recent matchups, Harden still finished the year on a strong note.

In 58 games, Harden averaged 21 points and led the league in assists with 11 per game during his first full season of action with the Sixers. And after getting some time off, followed by a week’s worth of practice, Harden anticipates playing heavy minutes when he returns to the court on Saturday.

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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