James Harden away from Sixers to attend to family matter, recover from foot strain

James Harden will be away from the 76ers for the next three or four days to attend to a family matter, coach Doc Rivers said. That absence is in addition to the All-Star guard’s recovery from a tendon strain in his right foot suffered during Wednesday’s loss to the Washington Wizards that is expected to sideline Harden for about a month.

“We want him to take care of that,” Rivers said of Harden’s family situation following the Sixers’ Sunday afternoon practice.

Rivers said Harden is wearing a walking boot, but is not putting weight on the foot for the first week of his recovery. That makes it difficult for Harden to maintain his conditioning, which had been such a priority during the offseason after he dealt with hamstring troubles for parts of the previous two seasons. Rivers, though, emphasized the importance of Harden sticking to a proper diet and treatment plan so he remains in shape upon his return.

“He can’t come back and be 10 pounds heavier or whatever,” Rivers said. “It’s hard not to be. I would be.”

Reserve wing Danuel House Jr. also missed Sunday’s practice while continuing to recover from flu-like symptoms that kept him out of Friday’s home loss to the New York Knicks. The illness has hit the Sixers’ players and staff in recent days. MVP runner-up Joel Embiid missed the past three games, though Rivers said Sunday that he is optimistic Embiid will return for Monday’s game against the Phoenix Suns. Multiple coaches and staff members have also been out sick, Rivers said.

“I’m just staying away from these guys,” Rivers said.

Tyrese Maxey’s offense-initiating responsibilities will increase while the Sixers play without Harden for the foreseeable future. But Harden’s absence also means more opportunity for Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz, whose playing time was limited-to-nonexistent before Friday.

Milton finished with six points on 3-of-7 shooting, three rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes against the Knicks, while Korkmaz had three points on 1 of 3 from the floor, two rebounds, and one assist in 11 minutes.

Though Rivers said he was “happy” with both players, the coach added Milton struggled with getting beat off the dribble on defense. Rivers said Korkmaz turned in a “really good showing overall,” except for a late play when he drove and shot a floater instead of taking the three-pointer or kicking back out after penetrating.

Rivers spent Saturday like many Philly sports fans: watching the heartbreaking endings to the Union and Phillies seasons that fell just short of championships.

Rivers called it a “tough day, but proud day in a lot of ways, too” and said he has spoken to Phillies manager Rob Thomson and Union coach Jim Curtin in the hours since those defeats.

That the Union game ended on penalty kicks particularly irked Rivers, a self-proclaimed newer soccer fan who recognizes there is no feasible alternative. When asked to ponder a comparable approach to deciding a winner in the NBA, Rivers mentioned the league’s competition committee once proposed a sudden-death overtime where the first team to score would win.

“Then I was like, ‘So we’re gonna trust a ref’s toss [on the jump ball]?’” Rivers said. “Because half the tosses are horrendous.”

Other ideas Rivers came up with ranged from the more reasonable (three-point shooting contest) to creative (“Joel [stands] at the basket and you have five guys try to lay it in over him”).

Reserve forward Georges Niang on managing a 4-6 start and multiple injuries/illnesses: “To grow through [expletive], you’ve got to go through [expletive].”