James Harden has experienced what the Brooklyn Nets call a “setback” in his thigh muscle rehabilitation and is now indefinite.
“Back to first place,” Nets coach Steve Nash said Tuesday. “We will rehabilitate him and get him back when we can, and who knows when it will be. We will support James and our performance team to get him back in the best condition. And it will hopefully come sooner rather than later, but there is no guarantee. . ‘
Harden experienced the setback Monday during a ‘rehabilitation session’ and, according to the team, had an MRI on Tuesday. Nash said Harden did not fall or perform a specific maneuver that caused him discomfort.
“He just felt it,” Nash said. “He did not fall or stumble or anything extraordinary; he just felt something in the ball of tension. Then the scan revealed that he had a setback. So not much more to it than just disappointment. and must rebuild and get it going again. ‘
Harden has missed the Nets’ last six games. He last played the New York Knicks on April 5, when he scored just four minutes before having a strain. Harden already had some thigh muscle before exacerbating the case against the Knicks. He has made good progress in his rehabilitation and has traveled with the team on the current road trip to continue chasing his 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 workouts.
Sets Marks, general manager of Nets, said on Friday that Harden had ‘made good progress’ and that he had ‘complied with the markers’ up to this point. Now the Nets will be forced to continue short-lived in the foreseeable future.
“He’ll be back when he’s back,” Nash said. “It can only be the play-off match. It might be earlier. I do not know.’
Nash said Kevin Durant, who is also with a thigh to Brooklyn, has a “more positive” prediction than Harden. Durant was diagnosed with the contusion after he became entangled with Miami Heat guard Trevor Ariza on Sunday. Nash said Durant is day to day.
Harden scored 25.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 10.9 assists per game for the Nets. Durant scored 27.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.