Philadelphia 76ers: The wait for James Harden will be worth it

Hey Philadelphia 76ers fans, I have some good news and some bad news.

First the bad; after tabbing Tuesday’s showdown against the Boston Celtics as his expected debut date, James Harden is expected to miss the remainder of the week, in addition to the 2022 NBA All-Star game. The Sixers want to take a cautious approach to his very legitimate hamstring injury and hope that an additional week of rest could prove valuable.

If you’re one of the fans who purchased a ticket for the contest or planned to fly to Milwaukee to see the Sixers’ final pre-All-Star break game versus the Bucks, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Fortunately, there is some light at the end of the tunnel that should hold you over until then: James Harden is officially a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, and no one, not even Adam Silver, can take that away.

One more week without James Harden isn’t that big of a deal, Philadelphia 76ers fans.

When the Philadelphia 76ers take the court against the Boston Celtics for their final home game until March 2nd, they won’t be without reinforcements.

That’s right, despite James Harden’s expected absence, Paul Millsap should be good to go for his first game in a red, white, or blue uniform since the spring of 2021 when he was a member of the Denver Nuggets. While Millsap isn’t going to magically increase the team’s ceiling versus Boston or overall, he presents a unique opportunity for the Sixers to extend out their rotation ever so slightly and experiment with new, defensive-focused looks.

According to Doc Rivers, Millsap will likely get some play as a small-ball center, a position he’s become more and more familiar with other the past few seasons. If Millsap’s center minutes come at the expense of Paul Reed, it would be a mistake, as BBall has been in a bit of a tear and gas turned in two straight plugs performance in place of Andre Drummond. But if the former four-time All-Star can instead play alongside Reed, regardless of who is technically playing which position, it could create some very interesting defensive looks, especially if Rivers goes all-in on switching.

The same could be said for playing Millsap next to Joel Embiid, who hasn’t had a true defensive power forward at his side since… well, Al Horford. Other than Horford and maybe Wilson Chandler, the Sixers have largely prioritized 3-and-D shooters at the four spot instead of bigger rebounding specialists who can space the field if need be, and that hasn’t been too big of a problem since Ben Simmons helped to mitigate that issue. But now, even with Harden being one of the best rebounding guards in the NBA, getting a Horford-lite player who should almost never play more than 20 minutes a night could help to make the Sixers better overall, especially if he’s deployed correctly.

Throw Tyrese Maxey at the one, Danny Green at the two, Matisse Thybulle at the three, Millsap at the four, and “The Process” in the paint, and you’ve got a pretty interesting lineup that has no defensive deficiencies.

Does it stink having to wait a little longer to see James Harden finally take the court in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform? Yes, the franchise has a horrible track record of things falling apart when they acquire high-profile guards, and until Matt Cord announces a “6-Foot-5 guard out of Arizona State,” some fans will be holding their breath for the next shoe to drop. But guess what? Even if Harden doesn’t take the court at “The Center” until March, he has officially been announced as a member of the franchise, and that, my friends, is a beautiful thing.