Getty Doc Rivers and James Harden of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The five-month drought without Philadelphia 76ers basketball is finally over now that on-court activities have started back up. The team’s next step toward the start of the season is its October 3 preseason debut against the Brooklyn Nets, tipping off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time in Brooklyn.
When speaking to reporters following the 76ers’ Sunday morning practice, Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers was asked whether the presumed starters would play in the game.
“Not many of them, but a couple may. It’s still not really decided, honestly. At least three will sit,” Rivers said, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Will James Harden Play?
The biggest question that most Sixers fans have is: What version of James Harden is going to suit up this year? Will it be the MVP-caliber player from just a couple of years ago or will it be the aging former superstar whose “explosiveness to the basket and efficiency was not there” in 21 games with the Sixers last year, according to Ky Carlin of USA Today’s SixersWire.
Harden, dealing with lingering hamstring issues, had career lows in field goal percentage (40.2%) and 3-point field goal percentage (32.6%) during his few months in Philadelphia last season.
Kurt Hein of NBC Sports called Harden “good but not elite” last season and “not the version of himself the 76ers need to contend.”
“We only saw Houston Harden in flashes this season. … he can’t just blow by guys in isolation anymore,” Hein wrote in May. “That’s what [general manager Daryl] Morey had been banking on. The Harden who could get into the paint at will and used that to set up the game’s best stepback 3. The guy who could draw fouls at a rate that frustrated opposing coaches and fans. That Harden has faded with a couple of hamstring injuries and the passing of time.”
Harden indicated that he was ready for a return to form.
“I’m in a really good space right now and I feel like I’m back to where I needed to be and where I’m supposed to be,” he told reporters at the Sixers’ media day on September 26. “The feeling is great.”
The preseason game will be Harden’s first time back in Brooklyn since the trade, but he downplayed the importance of the matchup to him when speaking to the media.
“Nah, I mean … it’s just a preseason game,” Harden said, according to an October 2 tweet by Pompey.
Expectations for the Sixers
Though the Sixers’ stars might not appear in the preseason opener, the game will offer a valuable showcase for unproven Sixers on the bottom of the roster, including Jaden Springer, Furkan Korkmaz, Trevelin Queen, Isaiah Joe and Charles Bassey.
The Sixers roster currently holds 17 players and the team will be required to cut down to 15 ahead of the regular season’s start. Queen, Joe and Bassey seem to be especially in need of a strong performance in order to ensure they make the cut.
Regardless of who suits up, this game will be much more focused on the quality of play rather than the results. Several members of the Sixers have discussed the growing pains of learning to play together in training camp, and this is a valuable opportunity to see how it stacks up against an opposing team.
This will be the first of four preseason games for the Sixers are set to play. After the October 3 game, they will return home for a game with the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 5. The Sixers’ regular season starts October 18 at the Boston Celtics.