The Sixers are playing like a team in transition as they wait for James Harden’s debut

The 76ers are in the midst of a tough transition as they wait for James Harden’s debut.

A season ago, the Sixers faced the Utah Jazz in the final game before NBA All-Star Weekend in what was a clash of the league’s conference leaders.

Rudy Gobert, a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, was expected to provide the stiffest individual test for Joel Embiid. But the Sixers All-Star posted an MVP-worthy performance while dominating Gobert in an overtime victory.

Fast-forward to Thursday night and Embiid and the Sixers (34-23) will head into the Fiserv Forum looking to steal a victory against the Milwaukee Bucks in the final game before the All-Star break.

But things are much different than they were a season ago, and this might not be the best time for the Sixers to face the Bucks (36-23).

That’s because Harden has yet to play since the Sixers acquired the perennial All-NBA selection and Paul Millsap from the Brooklyn Nets in a Feb. 10 trade for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks.

» READ MORE: James Harden finally got his wish: Joining the 76ers

And if we learned anything from Tuesday’s 48-point home setback to the Boston Celtics, this version of the Sixers may need both Embiid and Harden to be successful. Unfortunately for the team, Harden won’t play until after the All-Star break while rehabilitating a left hamstring strain.

So the fifth-seeded Sixers could have their hands full against the Bucks, who are third in the Eastern Conference.

Milwaukee’s two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 50 points on Tuesday against the Indianapolis Pacers to overtake Embiid as the league’s scoring leader. Antetokounmpo averages 29.4 points per game while Embiid is second at 29.3.

The Bucks are also third in the league in rebounds per game (46.5) and three-pointers made (835) and fifth in three-point percentage (36.2%). And they’ve won their last six series meetings against the Sixers.

» READ MORE: After acquiring James Harden, Daryl Morey believes Sixers are ‘well-positioned to go on a run’

But if there’s a glimmer of hope, it’s that Milwaukee struggled in two losses before beating the Pacers, 128-119. They suffered a 122-107 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday after losing, 131-107, to the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 10.

We’ll see which team shows up against the Sixers, who can’t play any worse than they did Tuesday night.

The Sixers made just 23 of 80 shots (28.7%). The 23 field goals were the lowest since they hit 19 on Oct. 30, 2015, resulting in a loss at Utah. And their 48-point setback was tied for the sixth-largest margin of defeat in franchise history.

Standout power forward Tobias Harris was held to a season-low six points. Harris, Embiid, and second-year guard Tyrese Maxey did not address the media after the blowout loss. That left newcomer Millsap and reserve power forward Georges Niang to speak for the team.

“We know what we are getting,” Niang said of Harden. “We could have used that tonight. You are talking about a guy that is in the elite of the elite of the elite when it comes to scoring the basketball. Like I said before, a basketball savant, breaking guys. You need two guys to guard James Harden.

“Would Boston be able to send five guys at Joel if James Harden was on the floor? No. You get punished for that. So I think all of us know what we have waiting in the arsenal.”

In the meantime, it’s just a matter of getting through Thursday’s game against the Bucks.

Join The Inquirer’s Gina Mizell, Keith Pompey, and DeAntae Prince live from the NBA’s All-Star Weekend in Cleveland on Feb. 18 at 4:30 PM. They’ll discuss Joel Embiid’s role as an All-Star Game starter and Tyrese Maxey’s appearance in the Rising Stars Game, plus the latest forecast for the remainder of the season and updates from the league’s Feb. 10 trade deadline on Inquirer LIVE.

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