Inside Sixers: Jalen McDaniels’ acclimation, Embiid-Maxey banter and more entering the All-Star break

James Harden zipped up a blue hard carry-on suitcase and placed a white designer duffle bag on top, clearly ready to roll out of Philly.

That sense of urgency is common following a team’s final game before the All-Star break, when players and staff disperse for a few days of mental and physical rest. And for the first time since 2012, Harden gets the entire respite, rather than partaking in the All-Star Weekend festivities in Salt Lake City.

“At this point, everybody’s a little banged up,” Harden said. “So it will be good for my body.”

» READ MORE: Dewayne Dedmon, who experienced ‘The Process,’ appreciates how far the Sixers have come

The time off for the 76ers arrives after a herky-jerky victory against the streaking Cleveland Cavaliers, when they used a torrid first-half start to build a 28-point advantage but needed to fend off their opponent’s furious rally. The Sixers also filled out their roster during the past week, acquiring versatile wing Jalen McDaniels (and sending defensive specialist Matisse Thybulle to the Portland Trail Blazers) at the trade deadline and signing veteran center Dewayne Dedmon off the buyout market.

Starting late next week, the Sixers will have 25 regular-season games remaining to sharpen themselves, and prove they can compete with the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference. They have a 38-19 record, are in third place in the Eastern Conference standings and have never been shy about their championship aspirations. So coach Doc Rivers’ only message to his players heading into the All-Star break was this: “Get your rest. Be healthy. Be safe. Don’t call me.”

Here are some other behind-the-scenes moments that peppered the week.

McDaniels and player development associate coach TJ Dileo were working on their home floor more than two hours before Monday’s win over the Houston Rockets, a time slot and partnership once occupied by Thybulle and Dileo.

That illustrated how swiftly things can change in the business of the NBA. It also provided a peek into a vital new relationship that now must be built on the fly, as players perhaps spend the most time with the skill development coach who caters workouts to individual games.

» READ MORE: The Sixers had little choice but to trade Matisse Thybulle

McDaniels and Dileo have spent their first few days together getting in the flow of their pregame shooting routine, which includes finishes at the rim and jumpers off the catch or following various dribble moves. Through film study, Dileo has already offered McDaniels tips on knowing personnel while playing defense — such as which shooters should be guarded more tightly and which ones can be left with more space — and reminders to run the floor and play with pace on offense.

“Him just critiquing already, that’s the stuff I like,” McDaniels said. “Just being real and telling me what I can do better.”

McDaniels, who averaged 5.7 points and 4.3 rebounds while subbing in late as a defender in his first three games as a Sixer, has also gotten acclimated a bit off the floor. While on the search for a meal earlier this week, he decided to walk instead of taking his rental car. On the stroll, he eventually wound up at the City Center Apple Store.

“I’m just going to see what’s up, you feel me?” McDaniels told himself. “Get a breath of fresh air and really just embrace everything.”

The Wells Fargo Center crowd witnessed the result of Danny Green’s months of intense recovery from two torn knee ligaments, when the veteran wing serendipitously made his Cavaliers’ debut Wednesday night against his former team.

Yet Rivers got a first-hand look at Green’s healing process last summer, when they coincidentally wound up at the same rehab facility in Los Angeles. The coach was recovering from hip surgery, and said he would drop in once or twice a week for hour-long sessions. Green, meanwhile, was “literally there every day, all day, five or six hours a day,” Rivers said.

“I actually watched it a couple times,” Rivers said. “He blew away everybody in that facility — I’m talking about the doctors and everyone else — because when he first came in, they thought there was no way he would play basketball again. And by the end of the summer, they were saying he’s going to make it back.”

» READ MORE: NBA veteran Danny Green is back in Philly, and back with the Cavaliers

Rivers reminded that Green did not need to push himself to return at this point of his career. He is 35 years old, has three championship rings, and is regarded as one of the best quintessential 3-and-D role players of this era.

“But Danny loves it, wants to be a part of it,” Rivers said. “And that’s what he’ll bring to that team: veteran leadership, know-how, great voice in the locker room, and he can really shoot the basketball.”

Not everybody in Center City late Sunday night was swept up in Super Bowl fever.

As Eagles fans took to the streets following the heartbreaking, final-seconds loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the noise kept Rockets rookie Jabari Smith Jr. awake at a nearby hotel. He posted an Instagram video of the crowd outside his window, with some hilarious commentary.

“Can y’all just go to sleep, man?” Smith said. “Y’all folks lost, and y’all out beating drums, keeping me up, man. I’m trying to sleep, man. I got Embiid tomorrow, and y’all out beating drums. … Please just go to sleep now. I know y’all mad. I know.”

Rivers, meanwhile, playfully expressed his appreciation for the disturbance the fans caused.

“Now we know where they stay, so maybe we should continue the drum beating outside of hotels every night,” Rivers joked.

As Tyrese Maxey began his final media session before the break at his locker, Joel Embiid plopped down in the chair next to him while wearing the team’s Big Energy chain.

“We’re doing it together,” Embiid said, “so I can get you guys out of here.”

The opportunity for each to reflect on their teammate’s season so far offered another window into their banter. Embiid’s response to a question about how Maxey handled his broken foot and move to a bench role was a deadpan, “Um, I don’t care.”

“That’s a good answer,” Maxey said. “Next question.”

But Embiid quickly followed with a serious response: “It just shows how tough he is — not just physically, but mentally. To be able to come back and lose your spot in the starting lineup and having to come off the bench and adjust, it just shows you that he’s in it for the right reasons, which is to win. That’s what we need — everybody to be on the same page, no matter who’s playing or not. We just need everybody to bought in.”

» READ MORE: How the NBA futures market is looking after the trade deadline as the league heads to its All-Star break

Then when asked about sharing the floor with Embiid for each of the big man’s past three MVP-caliber seasons, Maxey said, “I don’t care” — while playfully attempting to mimic Embiid’s accent — before shifting to a real answer.

“Joel’s gonna Joel,” Maxey said. “I tell you all the time, I try not to take it for granted, because some things that he does on the basketball court I’ve never seen before. For him to do it at his size and his speed and do it at the high level that he does that at every single night, it’s remarkable.”

And when the session ended, Maxey told Embiid, “I’m never doing media with you again.”