James Harden initially had a strained hamstring in a game against the Houston Rockets on March 31st. He missed two games and then returned for a game on April 5 against the New York Knicks. He then aggravated the injury even further and has been out ever since, although the initial prediction suggested that he would only be 7-10 days. Now the Nets have revealed that Harden had a setback Tuesday and is out indefinitely.
“Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden suffered a setback during a rehabilitation session in court on Monday. After an evaluation that includes an MRI today, Harden will remain indefinite. Updates regarding his status will depend on the information. provided, “the Nets said in a statement. Coach Steve Nash was really uncertain about the timeline.
“I really knew. I was at the workout, but we did not know before you did the scan. So I just got the news,” Nash said. “Yes, back to the first one. We’ll rehabilitate him and get him back when we can, and who knows when it will be.
“And we’ll support James and support our performance team to get him back to his best possible condition. And hopefully it’s coming sooner rather than later, but there’s no guarantee. and we hope for a speedy recovery. ‘
The combination of Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving has only played seven games and 186 minutes together since Harden was acquired from Houston earlier this season. The Nets still have just 15 regular season games on the schedule. To get Harden and Durant back healthy, they would have given up to 22 games to match each other. The number will now be significantly smaller.
The playoffs begin in less than a month and with Harden now out, it looks like Brooklyn’s chances of gaining the home field advantage in the Eastern Conference have evaporated. The Nets follow the Philadelphia 76ers by one game in the standings and lead the Milwaukee Bucks by three games. However, they play twice before the end of the season with the Bucks. If the Bucks win both, they will secure the showdown thanks to head-to-head victories. The Nets are now in serious danger of moving to No. 3 in the Eastern Conference and having to start on the road against the Bucks and 76ers.
Brooklyn’s roster was always built on the idea that talent beats everyone. Now the idea will be put to the test. No championship team has ever had less time to develop together than this one. They will not only have to heal to win everything, but must also figure out how to play together on the flight.