The show will go on with James Harden out. But what will the Sixers do when he returns?

The 76ers should be fine.

With James Harden sidelined a month with a right foot tendon strain, different guys will have to step up.

We know Joel Embiid will be more involved. Tyrese Maxey will continue to flourish. Tobias Harris will have a larger role. And De’Anthony Melton will get additional minutes at point guard.

The big question is what’s going to happen once Harden returns.

If the Sixers (4-6) are winning and playing well without him, the perennial All-NBA selection will have to adjust his style of play.

» READ MORE: Sixers star James Harden is expected to miss a month after suffering a right foot tendon strain

In the meantime, the Sixers must do their best without him.

“We know how important James is to our group,” Harris said. “So we are trying to make sure he can get back as healthy and as fast as possible. But for us right now, the objective is to figure out how to continue to build our chemistry and figure out ways to win games.”

The hope is that getting Harris more involved is one way to take up for Harden’s absence. The power forward had been the forgotten one through the first nine games.

Harris’ scoring average (13.4 points) and shot attempts (10.7) were the lowest since playing in a combined 55 games with the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic during the 2012-13 season.

He was relegated to a spot-up role with Harden on the floor instead of playing freely and attacking the basket like in past seasons.

“We have to, obviously,” coach Doc Rivers said of Harris going back to his old role. “It almost goes down to shot attempts and touches. With James, Tyrese taking the bulk of the shots now, and Joel, it took a lot from Tobias. Now with James out, we have to put Tobias in some of those spots.”

As good as Harden is, it often appears as if Maxey should be the Robin to Embiid’s Batman for the Sixers to make a deep postseason run. He’ll get an opportunity to do so over an extended period of time.

Maxey started out by scoring a game-high 31 points to go with seven assists in Friday’s 106-104 loss to the New York Knicks at the Wells Fargo Center. It was the Sixers’ first game without Harden. Harris also shined in his new role, finishing with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting along with nine rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.

» READ MORE: Sixers will lean heavily on Tyrese Maxey, Shake Milton in James Harden's absence

Embiid missed his third consecutive game Friday with the flu. Once he returns, Harden’s absence could lead to the All-Star center playing closer to the MVP-caliber level of last season. The big man has, for the most part, looked out of sync while playing alongside Harden this season.

But now, the Sixers will have no choice but to take advantage of his strengths. And while the Sixers are losing Harden’s star power, the defense, especially on the perimeter, just got better. One aspect of that improvement will be more minutes for Matisse Thybulle, and it will be interesting to see how he plays now that he’s expected to get more time.

He’s not the only player eager to show what they can do. They know Harden is a big part of their offense. He is their second-leading scorer. He’s second in the league in assists and he rebounds the ball. Harden also communicates to the players where he wants them on the floor.

“We pray for him,” Maxey said, “and we wish him to come back as soon as possible. But, in the meantime, we have to keep this train rolling. We got to figure out ways to win games.

“Guys have to step up. It is what it is. … Everybody is going to have to step up.”

On Friday, the Sixers went with a starting backcourt of Maxey and Melton against the New York Knicks at the Wells Fargo Center. Montrezl Harrell got the start at center in place of Embiid. Rivers doesn’t expect the Sixers to remain with a starting lineup of P.J. Tucker, Harris, Embiid, Maxey and Melton while Harden is sidelined.

» READ MORE: Doc Rivers believes NBA officials should show Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey more respect: ‘That has to get called’

“We’re going to have our big lineup,” he said. “We are going to go smaller at times. We were going to do that anyway. But now, it’s almost a necessity.”

Rivers went with Melton in the lineup because he’s “been playing great” and “terrific for us on the defensive end and offensive end.”

Melton and Maxey also play well together.

Swapping out Melton for Harden in the lineup is an upgrade on defense for a team ranked 23rd in defensive rating and 22nd in transition defense.

The Sixers now have three guys in Melton, Tucker, and Embiid known to be solid defenders in the lineup. It also takes some of the pressure off Tucker to guard the opposing team’s best wing, and places Harris in better defensive situations.

So Harden’s absence shouldn’t play out as poorly as people envision. In fact, some players welcome the opportunity to show what they can do. Shake Milton expects to see more playing time with Harden out, and we could see a few Furkan Korkmaz sightings.

The Sixers will also play differently without the ball-dominant player. And Embiid could be really motivated to show that this is still his team.

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Let’s face it, the Sixers haven’t played great so far, so it’s hard to say his absence will be a drop off. It could motivate the team, especially when it has a history of losing key players to injuries. To them, the next man up mindset is more than just a cliché.

“This team, this group of guys in particular, has a really good job of having that mindset,” Milton said. “Everybody’s confident in their ability, confident in what they’re able to do on the court.

“So to other guys, it’s no problem that somebody is going down. We’re going to step up, fill the void and get the win.”

And once Harden returns, the Sixers will add him to a group of players who were able to develop in his absence, which could make the Sixers better.

“I think,” Milton said, “it’s going to work out for us.”