According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Philadelphia 76ers will be without James Harden for a month after he suffered a right foot tendon strain in Wednesday’s loss to Washington. The former MVP averaged 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 10.0 assists through the season’s first nine games.
Tough blow. The Sixers relied heavily on Harden to open the season, especially with Joel Embiid already missing three games to various maladies. If the Sixers’ 4-5 start to the season proved anything, it’s that this relatively new group of players still needs to mesh. Now, any chemistry growth will have to wait another month.
The Sixers are losing one of the game’s premier facilitators and an extremely talented isolation scorer. Very few players generate points so prolifically as Harden. How does the team survive his absence? Well, it starts with these three players stepping up.
Without James Harden, the Sixers need the emergence of Shake Milton
Shake Milton’s playing time has been quite sparse to open the season. He’s ostensibly the 10th or 11th man when everyone is healthy. Well, now not everyone’s healthy — and it just so happens that Milton plays the same position as the presently absent James Harden, at least on offense.
It would be quite easy to mention De’Anthony Melton here (he will presumably take over Harden’s spot in the starting five), but with Harden on the pine, Philadelphia has a real need for Milton’s on-ball creation. Melton is a great shooter, but Milton can create more prolifically off the dribble. His ability to break down the defense and create points from scratch when the offense stalls will become more valuable without Harden to salvage stagnant possessions.
Typically the Sixers can stagger Harden and Tyrese Maxey to keep one All-Star guard on the floor at all times (let’s just call Maxey what he is). That’s no longer possible, so Milton will need to be charged with leading the non-Maxey units. Again, Melton is great in other ways but he shouldn’t be the primary ball-handler at any point.
Milton is obviously a rather significant downgrade from Harden, so spare yourself the disappointment that comes with high expectations. We know what Milton does and doesn’t provide at this point. He won’t take enough 3s or play world-beating defense, but he will make some nifty bail-out jumpers and give the Sixers extra ball-handling on the perimeter.
Without James Harden, the Sixers will once again turn to Joel Embiid
The Sixers have struggled to find the right balance between James Harden and Joel Embiid, but there were fleeting signs of progress after Philly’s embarrassing 0-3 start. Well, that’s all out the window now — it’s time for the Joel Embiid Show once again.
We have seen Embiid play MVP-level basketball for two years now, most of it without Harden (or a healthy and spry version of Harden). He’s more than capable of unlocking that same level of stardom in Harden’s absence, eating up more halfcourt possessions and redefining how the Sixers play offense.
When Harden does eventually return, the Sixers need to work on diversifying Embiid’s offensive involvement. He can sometimes make the game harder than it needs to be, and Harden is more than capable of supplying Embiid with easy points around the rim. But, with Harden on the pine, we should expect a steep decline in playmaking acumen. That means the best path to creating offense will run directly through Embiid, who should embrace his passing talent when defenses inevitably toss the kitchen sink at him.
The Sixers have relied on Embiid to move heaven and earth before. He will need to do it again to keep the team afloat without Harden, who was far and away the greatest source of offensive stability for the team though nine games. The Sixers are 4-5 and face a difficult upcoming stretch of the schedule. It’s time for Embiid to make his MVP case.
Without James Harden, Tyrese Maxey can make his All-Star case
The Sixers will rely extensively on Joel Embiid now that Harden is out. But it doesn’t have to be a one-man show. Tyrese Maxey is presently making another leap, averaging 24.2 points and 3.4 assists on 51.6 percent shooting (46.8 percent from deep). Now, he will be the Sixers’ primary source of playmaking and tempo in the backcourt.
We have seen Maxey put up numbers with shorthanded lineups in the past. While Embiid will dominate halfcourt possessions, Maxey should still get plenty of opportunities to attack the rotating defense — especially if Embiid commits to locating teammates out of double teams. The Sixers should also ratchet up the pace significantly, making a point to let Maxey run loose in transition. Especially when Embiid sits.
The numbers listed above already indicate All-Star potential. Now, Maxey’s scoring average could creep up even higher. His absurd efficiency will be put to the test without Harden easing the ball-handling burden, but there’s every reason to believe Maxey can thrive as lead ball-handler and true No. 2 option (he did it for half of last season already, though he didn’t look nearly this good).
The biggest number to watch in the box score will be Maxey’s assists. We have seen flashes of passing improvement, but his ability to manipulate the defense and locate teammates will be far more critical without Harden. If Maxey can establish pick-and-roll chemistry with Embiid and consistently leverage his dribble penetration to create looks for teammates — whew, the entire city of Philadelphia collapse from joy.