NBA
Philadelphia’s James Harden listed as questionable (ankle soreness) for tonight’s clash vs. Chicago
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All posts by Antonio KozlowUpdated22 Mar 2023
Yesterday James Harden was officially listed as questionable by the Sixers’ medical staff for this Wednesday’s match against Chicago, as the veteran is suffering from ankle soreness.
As is the case with Lakers’ LeBron James, foot injuries are hard to diagnose, especially when they aren’t a direct result of trauma. In Harden’s case, his age makes him more injury prone to these types of situations and Philadelphia will want to be cautious in every next step they take considering his recovery.
Full injury report for James Harden, Sixers vs. Bulls https://t.co/aJmrUidTsE
— USA Sport24 (@USASport24) March 21, 2023
Last time out the shooting guard had a poor performance against the Bulls, as the player shot 2-for-14 from the field and 0-for-6 from beyond the arc, only hitting 5 points this Monday, as Philly lost 109 to 105. Even though he was seen limping around the court with discomfort, he somehow finished the contest and at least delivered 12 assists throughout the match.
“He just didn’t play well,” coach Doc Rivers said about Harden in a post-match interview. “I thought he was hurting a little bit. I thought of our pace was so slow. And when we play like this we usually don’t win the games.”
Another Philly player who’s injured is PJ Tucker, as he also appears on the injury report with ankle soreness. The 37-year-old is on a regular rotation role with the team, but has missed the last two because of this dwelling issue.
And this is exactly why the medical staff should be careful with both cases if they expect them to be healthy for playoffs, considering their mileage in the NBA.
Harden has posted averages of 21.4, 6.3 rebounds, and 10.8 assists per match this season, and he is a crucial part of this Sixers squad if they are to fight for a possible 1-seed in the post-season. Nevertheless, as they currently stand three matches behind first place Milwaukee, they have much better chances of beating Boston to the conference’s second spot.
Philly get ready to endure the last extended road trip of regular season
With just 11 contests left until the end of regular season, the 76ers don’t have it easy as they make a final push to reach the Eastern Conference’s top positions.
But to make it even a bigger challenge, the team is about to endure their final extended road trip of the campaign, a stretch that includes four games that take on Chicago, Golden State, Phoenix, and Denver, respectively. The three matches against Western Conference squads are all among the region’s top six teams, as for the Bulls beat Philadelphia last time out.
Check out this Monday’s highlights as Chicago defeated Philly at the Wells Fargo Center:
Sixers star Joel Embiid was asked what was the key to beating these tough opponents during this next road trip, and he simply stuck to play it day-by-day and concentrate in the moment.
“Like I said, we’re trying to find ways to get better every single game even if it was small,” the big man said. “I thought tonight could’ve been better. You know it happens. You move on to the next one. You learn from it. Like I said, the biggest key is just staying together.”
