Is James Harden playing tonight against the Boston Celtics? | 2021-22 NBA season

The Philadelphia 76ers, recently bolstered by the arrival of James Harden, are gearing up to take on the Boston Celtics in a matchup between two Eastern Conference powerhouses.

After a slow start to the season, the 76ers have picked up momentum as they have won seven of their last 10 games in the league. Primarily thanks to Joel Embiid, who is a leading contender for the MVP award. With their acquisition of James Harden, Philadelphia have shown their intent to win the title this season.

Harden, before signing for the 76ers, was the player barely keeping the Brooklyn Nets afloat, this was due to both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant being unavailable. The former cannot participate in home games while the latter is out with a knee injury.

Harden's new team are less than three games from the summit of the Eastern Conference standings and will secure home court advantage for the postseason if they can keep up their good form until the end of the regular season.

Philadelphia has played well so far this season but they have lost key pieces in Seth Curry and Andre Drummond. This is in addition to Ben Simmons, who also departed thanks to the trade with the Nets that saw the 76ers land Harden.

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James Harden is out for tonight's game against the Boston Celtics

Harden warming up on the court

The Philadelphia 76ers have listed James Harden as out for tonight's game against the Boston Celtics at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Harden continues to be plagued by hamstring injuries as the superstar guard has missed 13 games this season for his former team, the Brooklyn Nets.

Harden struggled with hamstring issues during his time with the Houston Rockets as well, and the injury has primarily been attributed to his apparent weight gain over the last couple of years.

The man known as "The Beard" is averaging 22.5 points, 10.2 assists and eight rebounds this season. While shooting the ball better than 41% from the field and over 33% from beyond the arc. He has recorded nine triple-doubles and 29 double-doubles this season.

It will be fascinating to see how Harden takes to the court with Joel Embiid as there is a potential for a clash in playing styles. The latter is a high-usage player while the former has complained about not having enough of the ball during his time with the Nets. Harden can orchestrate the offense for the 76ers while also shouldering some of the scoring responsibility off of Embiid.

But for now, the 76ers will in all likelihood have to face their daunting upcoming schedule without the services of James Harden. The Philly-based side are slated to go up against the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat before they meet Harden's former team in the Brooklyn Nets.