Sixers Star James Harden Says He Plans To Play In Matchup Vs. Heat

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers will be looking to bounce back on Monday when they take on the Miami Heat at home on the second night of a back-to-back. The Sixers let a 16-point lead slip away as they fell to the Toronto Raptors at home on Sunday, but they will have another chance on Monday.

Considering the Sixers now have 12 games left before the playoffs begin in mid-April and how many minutes the starters have had to play, one might think that a matchup with the Heat would be an opportunity to rest James Harden or Joel Embiid.

After the loss on Sunday, Harden gave an update on his hamstring issue.

“I’m good,” he said. “What is this, 12 games for me? Or really like 10 or 11, I’m just trying to keep my pace and my energy up. It’s a lot of minutes and I’m trying to produce and get to the basket and just try to be involved in mostly every possession. I feel good for now. Just gotta keep going, keep working on every single possession and make sure I’m involved which comes with cardio and just being on the court and being active on every possession.”

Does this mean Harden will play against the Heat?

“That’s the plan,” he said. “I plan on playing.”

Despite the quick turnaround, Harden views it as a positive. After he had a tough game against Toronto, he can now bounce back rather quickly instead of waiting.

“Definitely one of the good things about this league,” said Harden. “You can have a rough night, rough stretch, or whatever the case may be, you can keep putting the work in, and you can be ready to go the next night. It’s not going to get any easier and we need games like this because going into the postseason there are going to be games like this where everything isn’t so pretty, we aren’t making shots, it’s going to come down to a couple possessions.”

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!