James Harden will miss Sixers’ game vs. Suns; Joel Embiid available to play
Jalen McDaniels (hip bruise), and Danuel House Jr. (shoulder soreness) also are among those who are questionable. Embiid is dealing with calf tightness, and James Harden has Achilles soreness.
PHOENIX — James Harden (Achilles soreness) and Danuel House Jr. (shoulder soreness) will miss Saturday’s 76ers game at the Suns, while Joel Embiid (calf tightness) and Jalen McDaniels (hip bruise) are available.
De’Anthony Melton will start in Harden’s place.
Harden, McDaniels, and House missed the Sixers’ loss at the Golden State Warriors Friday night. Embiid — the NBA’s leading scorer at 33.4 points per game — did not play in the second half of Wednesday’s victory at the Chicago Bulls, but returned to amass 46 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists in Friday’s loss. After that game, Embiid said his calf felt “OK, a little sore.”
“Just got to keep managing it and see how it feels tomorrow and the next few days,” Embiid added. “It’s all about making sure I’m healthy for the playoffs. Whatever gets me there healthy, that’s what we’re going to do.”
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Harden, the NBA’s assist leader at 10.8 per game, has missed the Sixers’ past two contests. Coach Doc Rivers said before Friday’s loss at Golden State that there was a “chance” Harden would return against the Suns but “probably a bigger chance” he would come back for Monday’s marquee showdown at the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets.
”If this was a playoff game, James would be playing,” Rivers said Friday. “But we’re just not going to do that right now. We’ve decided, especially now with guys, if they show something, they’re out.”
McDaniels has been dealing with his injury for almost two weeks. It occurred during a March 12 win against the Washington Wizards, causing him to miss two games. He then looked to be laboring while playing limited minutes at the Indiana Pacers on March 18 and Chicago Bulls on March 20, before sitting out again the Sixers’ past two games. He has averaged 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 15 games since the Sixers acquired him at the February trade deadline.
House was a late scratch for Friday’s loss at the Warriors, after the medical and training staff attended to his shoulder following the Sixers’ morning shootaround. He had recently slid back into the Sixers’ rotation and is averaging 4.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 48 games.
The Sixers (49-24) have won eight of their past 10 games and enter Saturday 1½ games behind the Boston Celtics for second place in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.