James Harden suffers foot strain, out one month

Star guard James Harden sustained a strained tendon in his right foot and is expected to miss one month for the Sixers, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

It’s a tough blow for both the player and the team. The Sixers have gotten off to a slow start, currently sitting with a 4-5 record after dropping Wednesday’s game to the Wizards. According to Wojnarowski, Harden suffered the foot strain during Wednesday night’s loss, with testing revealing the injury Thursday.

A 10-time All-Star and former league MVP, Harden is averaging 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 10.0 assists and 1.1 steals on .441/.333/.929 shooting through nine games (36.8 minutes per contest). He’s also turning the ball over at his lowest rate since the 2011-12 campaign.

If Harden returns by Philadelphia’s game on Dec. 5, he’ll have missed 14 games with the injury. As ESPN’s Tim Bontemps notes (via Twitter), it’s a difficult stretch of games for the Sixers, who face the Knicks, Suns, Hawks (twice), Jazz, Bucks and Timberwolves over their next seven contests.

With Harden sidelined, look for Joel Embiid (who has already missed three games, one with a sore knee and the past two with the flu), Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris to increase their shot attempts. Reserve guard De’Anthony Melton, who missed Wednesday’s contest with a sore back, will likely start in Harden’s place.

It will also be an opportunity for players like Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz to carve out potential rotation roles, since Harden is second in the team in minutes played, only trailing Maxey.