Doc Rivers expresses some concern over James Harden’s Achilles injury
PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers have been dealing with injury issues recently as the playoffs quickly approach. The big issues are with their star duo in the form of James Harden and Joel Embiid who are both nursing injuries.
Harden has been dealing with a left Achilles injury. An injury that can raise alarms when the word “Achilles” gets thrown around. It’s also an injury that Harden stated that he has been dealing with it for months.
With the playoffs right around the corner on April 15, coach Doc Rivers has some concerns about the injury as they continue to manage it.
“I think it’s been managed, but it’s always a concern, honestly,” said Rivers. “You want him to be healthy. Those are things—calves and Achilles, those are things that pop up during the year and you just hope they go away. That’s why we’ve managed them so well over the past couple weeks. Giving them rest. Even during practice, not having them on the floor a lot. We’re doing everything we can.”
The Sixers have six games remaining on the schedule beginning with Friday night’s matchup with the Toronto Raptors at home. The Beard is going to play in that game, but over the next five games, Philadelphia will have to decide what to do with Harden in terms of their preparation for the postseason.
“Yeah, but that could change, honestly,” Rivers added when asked if he expects Harden to play in these remaining games. “Right now, you look at our sheet, he’s clean as far as playing games, but we’ll see how this week and next week goes and we’ll go from there.”
After they face the Raptors on Friday, the Sixers will face the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, and Brooklyn Nets to end the season. Time will tell how many of those games Harden will play in.
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Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire
Source: Yahoo Sports
