PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers have played two preseason games so far in preparation for the 2023-24 season. They have played both of those games without James Harden who is still ramping up his conditioning to get back on the floor.
Obviously, Harden still wants out. The future Hall of Famer has made it clear that he doesn’t want to be in Philadelphia, but he is under contract and he has been with the team working out and being a true professional until he does get moved.
With that being said, coach Nick Nurse would like to get him in a preseason game before the regular season opens on Oct. 26 in Milwaukee.
“For sure,” Nurse said of having Harden play a preseason game. “It’s important to get everybody in as soon as they get ready to go. It’s certainly important to see what it’s like, and when it gets down to the last one, it’s important to get some kind of handle or sense of what your rotation is gonna look like.”
Along with missing Harden, the Sixers have been missing Joel Embiid and Furkan Korkmaz as well. With Embiid, it’s just him being a veteran and there isn’t much sense to play him in a preseason game while Korkmaz is dealing with a leg strain.
“It’s important,” Nurse added. “They’re still doing everything. They’re just not ready to play. Hopefully, they’ll be ready for the next game. Everybody, hopefully, and they’ll get a couple games under their belt. Everybody comes, stays healthy, and continues to progress condition-wise and then we can get Furk back in there, too so we got a full array of guys to look at and figure out exactly what the rotations are gonna look like.”
The Sixers will continue the preseason on Monday against the Brooklyn Nets. That will be Harden’s next chance to get in a live game.
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