Sixers thankful to have star guard James Harden back in the lineup
The Philadelphia 76ers were able to piece some things together on the offensive end while missing James Harden due to a foot injury, but they struggled at times to really find any consistent offense. A lot of credit goes to Shake Milton for the way he played, but he’s not Harden.
The Beard returned to the lineup on Monday as the Sixers fell to the Houston Rockets 132-123 in double overtime to end an ugly 0-3 road trip, but Harden did have seven assists and the offense was flowing. At least in the early going.
“We need it,” coach Doc Rivers told reporters before the contest. “Our passing and our ball-handling has been limited. Let’s just be honest there and we’re probably the only team in the NBA without a true point guard, but James is as close to that as we have. Especially, with his ability to see the floor and pass.”
After the game, Rivers did believe that Harden looked good in the loss. That is why, despite missing 14 games, they had him out there playing 38 minutes on Monday.
“He looked fine,” Rivers added. “That’s why we left him in. We kept checking. The game, I was surprised, it was not played at a very high pace. We thought it would be more of this and it wasn’t so we decided to keep them on the floor.”
Now, Harden will have three days off before they kick off a 7-game homestand on Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Doc Rivers releases frustration after Sixers lose to lowly Rockets
