All signs point to James Harden’s return for the Sixers on Monday night at Houston Rockets
He has not played in a game since Nov. 2. Harden says his return to Houston is nothing special, but the circumstances say otherwise.
HOUSTON — James Harden called it a coincidence.
But barring a setback, the 76ers guard will return from injury Monday night against the Rockets in H-Town, a city he came to adore while winning three NBA scoring titles there.
“As it started getting later [in the rehabilitation process], it was a potential destination,” said Harden, who has been sidelined for 14 games with a strained tendon in his right foot. “... So it just happened that way.”
Harden went from being a sixth man of the year to a 10-time All-Star after the Oklahoma City Thunder traded him to the Rockets on Oct. 27, 2012. A lot of his family members still live in Houston, and he resides there in the offseason.
The 33-year-old had a lot of special moments inside the Toyota Center before forcing a trade to the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 13, 2021.
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On Monday, he is expected to mark his third time playing in Houston as a member of the opposing team since he left; it will be his first time as a Sixer.
“Honestly, there’s like no different emotions,” Harden said of facing the Rockets. “... I still live here. I don’t have the emotional phase. It’s another game, honestly. I’ve got a lot of family, friends and people that are going to support me if I do play tomorrow.
“It’s just home.”
But playing in Houston is different than in another other arena. Harden is one of the Rockets’ all-time best players. He won the 2018 MVP award and numerous other accolades during his nine seasons as a Rocket. Fans are past being upset with him for forcing a trade. He’s still appreciated in this city.
“The love and feelings are mutual,” he said. “That’s never going to change. Like I said, I still own my home here. A lot of family still lives here. That feeling won’t change. What I meant by the game is obviously there’s no greater win or loss [here compared to other places], but having that family environment around me is a little different.”
After practice Sunday, Harden participated in shooting drills for about 30 minutes. Coach Doc Rivers said he had a good practice. The coach talked about Harden’s ability to get up and down the court and be competitive at practice.
“Hopeful, he’ll be ready for [Monday],” Rivers said. “And if he is, he’ll be in a limited role. But it’s still better to have him than not, if we can have him.”
Harden said he’s on pace to return Monday. “Today was the first [time] I did five-on-five contact in a month,” the perennial All-NBA selection said. “So we will see how I feel in the morning for shootaround and go from there.”
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His return is coming at the right time for the Sixers (12-11), losers of two straight. They suffered their worst loss of the season Wednesday in a 113-85 road setback to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Two night later, they lost, 117-109, to the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedExForum. While the Sixers made a late run, the outcome was never seriously in doubt.
But soon they’ll get back their best ballhandler, who suffered the injury against the Washington Wizards on Nov. 2. Harden is averaging 22.0 points, 10.0 assists, and 7.0 rebounds in nine games.
The toughest part about being sidelined was “that right there,” Harden said of the last two losses. “Making that ball hop, making sure teammates get shots and just making the game easier, that’s my job. Take a little bit of pressure off each individual teammate like I’m doing my job.
“I just know how much of an impact during a game I can bring. So that’s the most frustrating part, obviously.”
First-year Sixer P.J. Tucker should benefit the most from Harden’s return. The forward averaged 6.2 points on 59.5% shooting (52.6% on three-pointers) in the nine games Harden played. Tucker averaged just 1.9 points on 28.1% shooting (27.8% on threes) while Harden was sidelined. He failed to score in seven of those 14 games.
“We didn’t sign P.J. to be scorer,” Harden said of criticism Tucker has received for not scoring. “P.J. is a leader. He’s our defensive presence. And P.J. does a really good job of doing things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. His plus-minus is very good.
“It’s my job. It’s [Joel Embiid’s] and [when Tyrese Maxey] comes back, and our playmakers, the guys that have the ball in their hands, to not just get P.J. shots but everyone on the team shots, and make sure the ball is equally balanced.”
At the time of his injury, Harden was expected to be sidelined a month. Monday will mark the 33rd day since he was hurt. He said patience has been the key to keeping on track to return.
“As much as I love basketball, I want to be out there to compete, especially for my teammates,” Harden said. “So this month has been patience, putting the work in, making sure I’m ready to come back and help this team get to where we can get to.”
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The Sixers have won five straight against and losing 13 of their last 15 meetings with Houston, one of the league’s worst teams.
The youthful Rockets (6-17) are a favorable matchup for Harden, who will also be able to rest afterward. The Sixers will be off for three days before starting a seven-game homestand on Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The other games during the pre-Christmas homestand are against the Charlotte Hornets (Dec. 11), Sacramento Kings (Dec. 13), Golden State Warriors (Dec. 16), Toronto Raptors (Dec. 19), Detroit Pistons (Dec. 21), and Los Angeles Clippers (Dec. 23).
Harden is happy to be back around his teammates. He described being away the last two weeks while they played five of seven games on the road as “boring.”
“I know Tyrese is probably going through it right now,” Harden said of Maxey, who’s sidelined with a fractured left foot. “I love to hoop, and I’ll hoop anywhere like in the park, I mean I just love to play basketball. So not being able to hoop and laugh and be around the guys, that was the most boring part of all this.
“There’s so much rehab you can do and you go home and you are just staring at the wall.”
To bide his time, Harden said he went to Kansas with his mother, Monja Willis, and spent time with family in Houston.
His teammates are elated to have him back.
“For role guys like me, he just makes stuff so much easier,” Tucker said. “It’s not even scoring. He just knows the game and knows how to play. He reads the floor so well. And just my familiarity playing with him so much makes it fun.
“He just makes things so much easier.”