James Harden won’t make Philadelphia 76ers debut until at least Tuesday

PHILADELPHIA — James Harden could formally be a 76er, however his debut should wait.

The newly acquired famous person guard is not going to play Friday in opposition to the Oklahoma City Thunder or Saturday in opposition to the Cleveland Cavaliers, as he’s anticipated to reach in Philadelphia this weekend and get seemed over by the crew’s medical personnel.

Harden, who’s averaging 22.5 factors, 10.2 assists and eight.0 rebounds per recreation this season, has missed the previous week with hamstring tightness. That problem noticed him sit out his last three video games with the Brooklyn Nets earlier than Thursday’s deadline-day blockbuster despatched him and veteran huge man Paul Millsap to Philadelphia in change for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and a pair of first-round picks.

Following their weekend back-to-back, the 76ers’ subsequent recreation is Tuesday in opposition to the Boston Celtics.

The participant Harden will finally be sharing a backcourt with, Tyrese Maxey, stated it was surreal that somebody he grew up watching is now going to be his teammate.

“It is sort of loopy, as a result of he was one of many guys you performed with on [NBA] 2K if you had been a youthful child,” Maxey stated after shootaround Friday. “I name him my brother, considered one of my finest associates that I had all through highschool, he was the largest James Harden fan rising up. I texted him final night time, and we talked about it just a little bit. He stated, ‘It is loopy. I performed with you, and now you are enjoying with my favourite participant.’

“It is a cool deal, and I can not wait to fulfill him and get began.”

Maxey stated Sixers coach Doc Rivers advised the crew that practices and shootarounds are going to be extra intense transferring ahead as Philadelphia tries to get its new-look roster up to the mark.

“It should be nice,” Maxey stated of enjoying alongside Harden and Joel Embiid. “It is two MVP-caliber gamers on high of what we’ve got right here already. I believe one factor that is actually going to assist us is the chemistry and the brotherhood that we’ve got right here. It is simple to welcome somebody in, irrespective of who it’s, Paul, James, it is easy to welcome individuals in due to the continuity we’ve got right here already. The blokes right here like one another, like being round one another, like speaking to one another and likewise like enjoying extraordinarily onerous for one another on the courtroom.

“[So we’ll] attempt to make the transition as simple as potential. It should be nice, and I simply can’t wait.”