James Harden

One of the main reasons for the Sixers' failures in their loss to the Bulls was a woeful game for James Harden.

[Philadelphia 76ers](/nba/philadelphia-76ers) spoiled the chance to properly celebrate the 40th anniversary of their most recent title by losing to the Chicago Bulls. While he was able to play down the stretch for the Sixers, the team has to play it safe as they begin another road trip. Doc Rivers said that Harden wasn’t at 100 percent when he spoke to reporters at the podium.

Harden may have been hobbled by a bad foot, but his poor performance hamstrung the Sixers.

The entire game the Sixers had too many plays late in the shot clock and often made poor choices. “It did a little bit,” Doc Rivers said of the nature of the schedule catching up to the Sixers. He moved around gingerly in the locker room and asked for Sixers head athletic trainer Kevin Johnson. “I just can’t live with the way we played offense. The Sixers standout point guard made just 2 of 14 shots - including missing his six three-point attempts - to finish with a season-worst five points. “I thought our execution all night was awful, awful,” Rivers said. “I thought he was hurting a little bit,” Rivers said. “I’ll take our defense the way we played all night,” Rivers said. The Sixers hung in there, defensively. “But I still thought we could have won the game. Not only was this the Sixers’ fourth game in six nights, it was a game in between seven road games. They blocked eight shots, recorded eight steals and benefited a little from the Bulls shooting 7 of 33 on three-pointers.

James Harden had a brutal night and the Sixers' offense struggled in a double overtime loss to the Bulls Monday.

After Embiid fouled out, it was very funny to see Harden just take up his role by setting up at the nail, still the Bulls’ defense was really able to zero in on Maxey. - Embiid scored 18 of his 37 in the third, singlehandedly preventing the Bulls from running away with the game. - Much like the rest of the game, Philly’s crunch time offense was ugly. - Embiid came out of the half with a picked-up level of intensity, but he had very little help from his supporting cast. Most of their turnovers in the first half came as a result of a dropped pass or offensive foul. Embiid quickly picked up his fourth and fifth fouls, leaving him in a pretty compromised position in protecting the rim. - Harden continued to struggle as the fourth got underway. - It was an ugly first for both teams, as the Bulls shot 30 percent in the quarter in the spirit of March Madness. Tonight the second unit got off to a solid start before more turnovers allowed the Bulls to get some momentum and go out in front. Even as the Sixers’ shots began to fall they were still sloppy with the ball, turning it over six times in the first. Tyrese Maxey tried his best to pull a rabbit out of the hat with 22 points, but most notable was James Harden’s struggles. The Sixers fell 109-105 in a double overtime slog.

The Sixers battled the Bulls for two overtimes but could not overcome Joel Embiid fouling out and a disastrous James Harden performance, falling 109-105 to ...

With Harden in the midst of a clunker and starting from a total standstill, you basically had nothing to lose and everything to gain by calling a timeout at that point. The Sixers had to lean on him more and more in the second half and multiple overtimes, with tired legs and shaky performances weighing down Philly's offense for most of the night. The young guard was penetrating, getting to the hoop, and simply coming up short on the final part of the play. And on that possession, you could have also pointed the finger at Harden, who didn't appear to want the ball in a critical moment. Not to point the finger at one guy for a team loss, but this is as bad as it gets from an individual standpoint. If he was hurt and that was impacting his play, he should not have been on the floor. In the first half of the game, Philadelphia's defense was more than good enough to carve out a lead, and they probably would have coasted into halftime up by a lot if they had been anywhere close to their usual offensive level. • I have admittedly not seen every single game Harden has ever played, but this has to be up there with the worst games he has played as a professional. The deeper we got into this game, though, the more Harris needed to be a self-creator for Philadelphia to get much of anything going. By and large, the approach worked and forced the Bulls into tough shot attempts, but they had to give up a few easy buckets in the process.) Early in the third quarter, Embiid seemed to sense that the Sixers didn't really have anything going aside from whatever he had going. Speed against pressure is what powered his dominant outing against the Celtics prior to the All-Star break, and it is increasingly becoming one of the most powerful tools in his arsenal.

The Philadelphia 76ers had a chance to extend their winning streak on Monday when they played host to the Chicago Bulls. The Sixers had won eight in a row ...

It was an uncharacteristically quiet night offensively for the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, who lost to the Chicago Bulls 109-105 in double overtime.

He [leads the league](https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?DateFrom=03%2F01%2F2023&DateTo=03%2F21%2F2023) in points per game and is third in blocks per game this month. “We don’t need to push one down to elevate the other guy,” Rivers said. “I think his main focus is (to) win a championship right now. I think he’s the best big in the league right now, along(side) Jokic…Hopefully, he gets it,” Drummond said, And if you ask Rivers, Embiid is the league’s MVP. We should be celebrating different guys in the league.” 2 seed in the East. Can we stop trying to put people down? [per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer](https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/doc-rivers-joel-embiid-nikola-jokic-sixers-julius-erving-mvp-20230320.html?utm_source=t.co&utm_campaign=edit_social_share_twitter_traffic&utm_medium=social&utm_content=&utm_term=&int_promo=). Since then, however, the Sixers have recovered massively. Harden missed significant time earlier in the season with a foot injury. [Philadelphia 76ers](https://heavy.com/sports/philadelphia-76ers/) on Monday, who lost to the [Chicago Bulls](https://heavy.com/sports/chicago-bulls/) 109-105 in double overtime.

James Harden played his worst game as a Sixer Monday and Doc Rivers said postgame that his star guard is "hurting."

Two of those games were the first two of the season. Much respect goes to Harden for being a gamer for the bulk of his career. There are only 11 games left in the regular season. Harden is averaging just 12.3 points a game while shooting 18.2 percent from the field and 15 percent from three in three games against Chicago this season. Another was the first game out of the All-Star break. Which makes it more puzzling is that such a critical piece to the roster was playing while hurt in a late-March game against a team that might not even make the playoffs. Harden went 2 of 15 from the field and 0 of 6 from three for five points. Harden has struggled occasionally here and there in the middle of a terrific season. But what was most troubling is the way Harden looked. The five points and 14 percent shooting are his lowest marks of the season. The Sixers were percentage points ahead of the The Sixers still have the best record in the NBA since Dec.

After James Harden's tough night against the Bulls, Doc Rivers revealed the guard was battling a setback.

Sixers guard James Harden dribbling against former teammate Patrick Beverley. Read More. James Harden's nightmare outing against the Bulls on Monday evening ...

That's the doom and gloom scenario, of course, and perhaps Harden is simply in need of a few days off to get right in the midst of an absolutely brutal portion of the schedule for Philadelphia. But as the head coach likes to remind everyone, I am not a doctor, and so we will see how the team handles an important health decision with three weeks left in the regular season. Philadelphia might be able to win some games in tough circumstances without him to close out the regular season, but they'd be drawing dead against real contenders in the playoffs if they have to go to war with a compromised version of Harden, which is doubly true if they lose Harden altogether. If we're looking for a play that might have exacerbated (or caused) any soreness Harden could be dealing with, one would look toward a play toward the end of the first half, when Harden was stripped by DeMar DeRozan (perhaps not completely legally) before slamming to the floor, taking quite a while to get up and moving back to the Sixers' huddle. Any insight he might have shared on the situation will have to wait for a later date, however, as Harden left the locker room while Joel Embiid held court with reporters after Monday's loss. Doc Rivers made note of the pain Harden was dealing with while trying to pinpoint a reason for his struggles against the Bulls this season.

Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden has been enjoying a terrific 2022-23 season. In his first full season in Philadelphia, The Beard is averaging 21.4 ...

Sure, Embiid will be the guy and everything will come down to his play, but for the Sixers to make their run and get to the NBA finals, Harden has to be that No. He doesn’t have to be a league scoring leader like he was in Houston, but the James Harden that we’ve been seeing this year, leading the league in assists and doing the things that he’s been doing, with his productive play, and his sporadic play of offensive aggression, where he might drop 30 or 35 on you at the blink of an eye before he goes back to averaging about 21 a game. [loss to the Chicago Bulls](https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/lists/player-grades-zach-lavine-bulls-knock-off-sixers-on-the-road-in-double-ot/) in double-overtime. I’m not talking about again from years ago, but a relatively star-caliber elite kind of player. Harden is also shooting a career-high 38.4% from deep as he has fully embraced his new position as the second option behind Joel Embiid. You look at Tobias Harris, the Shake Miltons, the De’Anthony Meltons the world.

Philadelphia 76ers guard/forward James Harden (Achilles) is questionable for Wednesday's game against the Chicago Bulls.

Tucker (ankle) questionable on Monday](/nba/player-news/225874/76ers-p-j-tucker-ankle-questionable-on-monday)March 19th, 2023 Tucker (ankle) out for Monday](/nba/player-news/225941/76ers-p-j-tucker-ankle-out-for-monday)March 20th, 2023 [76ers' P.J. Tucker (ankle) questionable on Wednesday for 76ers](/nba/player-news/226025/p-j-tucker-ankle-questionable-on-wednesday-for-76ers)March 21st, 2023 [76ers' James Harden (Achilles) questionable on Wednesday](/nba/player-news/226024/76ers-james-harden-achilles-questionable-on-wednesday)March 21st, 2023 [De'Anthony Melton playing with 76ers' second unit Monday](/nba/player-news/225966/de-anthony-melton-playing-with-76ers-second-unit-monday)March 20th, 2023 [James Harden starting for 76ers Monday; De'Anthony Melton to come off bench](/nba/player-news/225964/james-harden-starting-for-76ers-monday-de-anthony-melton-to-come-off-bench)March 20th, 2023 [76ers' P.J.

James Harden is officially listed as questionable for the Philadelphia 76ers get set to take on the Chicago Bulls with an ankle injury.

They currently sit 3 games out of 1st, and 2.5 games out of the 2nd seed, and play both teams one more time before the season ends. Foot and Ankle injuries are always tricky, especially when they aren’t the direct result of some form of trauma. He somehow finished the game.

Philadephia 76ers star guard James Harden did not attend the post-game press conference after Monday night's match against the Chicago Bulls.

Even though Harden was dealing with the issue, he played 47 minutes in the contest, finishing the game with 5 points on just 2-for-14 shooting, 7 rebounds, and 12 assists. "I don't think it's them, at least not tonight. James Harden played 47 minutes against the Bulls Monday night even though he was dealing with a foot issue the entire match.