The Brooklyn Nets enter the NBA playoffs as the No. 2 seed despite going through a regular season that featured injuries and time off for James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving. The trio played in just eight games together all season long, so their chemistry on the defensive end seems to be the biggest question about the Nets’ ability to win the Eastern Conference going into the playoffs.
The good news for Nets fans, though? Head coach Steve Nash told the media on Friday that Harden and Joe Harris will not have any minutes restrictions on Saturday night in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Boston Celtics.
There was uncertainty about how hard the Nets would push Harden and Harris in the first round because essentially everyone believes that Brooklyn will get past Boston without much trouble.
Harden’s Hammy
When Harden was traded to the Nets, he played at an MVP level. We saw a totally different playing style from the former MVP when Durant and Irving were on the floor because he had superstar players around him that he could pass the ball and give up shots for.
Over the course of 44 regular-season games with the Rockets and Nets this season, Harden averaged 24.6 points per game and shot 46.6 percent from the field. He obviously didn’t have that luxury playing on the Houston Rockets. The Nets are the lone place where he would have had that luxury because they feature the only true “Big Three” in the league.
There were still some bumps in the road for Harden in terms of injuries this season. In early April, he was dealing with a nagging hamstring injury. Upon his return to the court, he suffered an early exit with right hamstring tightness.
That hamstring tightness put him on the shelf for 10 days. In total, Harden was sidelined for five weeks this season and missed 18 games in a row at one point. There was talk about capping Harden’s minutes at 30 but it looks like he feels ready to go.
Harris’s Injury
Harris is as close to the Eastern Conference’s version of Klay Thompson as you can get and he will be an X-factor to the Nets’ success if they go far in the playoffs.
The 29-year-old has been banged up a little bit going into the playoffs. He was dealing with a sore hip at one point. This injury forced him to sit out for a couple of games. Harris averaged 14.1 points per game and is shooting 47.5 percent from three-point range.
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Main Image Credit: Nets Daily
