James Harden, the standout guard for the Philadelphia 76ers, has had a fantastic start to the 2022–23 NBA season, but he will now have to sit out for a while. Following a right foot tendon tear, Harden is anticipated to miss a month of play, according to CBS Sports and Adrian Wojnarowski. Wednesday night’s 121-11 loss to the Washington Wizards for Philadelphia resulted in Harden’s injury. During the second half of the game, Harden withdrew to Philadelphia’s locker room, but he eventually came back to the court and finished the game. In 35 minutes of game time, he finished with 24 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds.
The Sixers have had a disappointing 4-5 start to the season, and without Harden for the foreseeable future, things will get considerably worse for them. Harden averages 22 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds a game this season. His average of at least 20 points and 10 assists per game is the highest in the league. The star guard is expected to take a month to heal, which will keep him off the court for the entire month of November before returning to it early in December. There are 13 games left for the Sixers in November.
The Sixers will have to rely more on Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to produce offensively without Harden. This season, Embiid has missed three games and, when he has played, hasn’t exactly looked like himself. It was discovered shortly after the season began that Embiid had plantar fasciitis over the offseason, which may have affected his early-season performance.
On the other hand, Maxey has continued to rise and has built on the momentum he created for himself last season. Maxey is currently averaging career-high amounts of minutes (37.2), points (24.2), rebounds (3.4), and field goal % thus far this season (51). Maxey will have much more control of the ball with Harden out, so it will be up to him to start the offense and create scoring opportunities for his teammates. He will have lots of opportunities to practice now because this is likely the part of his game that requires the greatest improvement.
The Sixers must hope that Harden’s extended absence won’t have a significant effect on the standings in a tight-knit Eastern Conference. Additionally, they must hope that Harden can fully heal from the injury and that it won’t persist. It’s one thing to miss a few games in November and December, but if the Sixers want to make a big impact in the playoffs, Harden needs to be 100 percent healthy by then.