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James Harden had spent the majority of his career with the Houston Rockets before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in January. After being traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to Houston before the start of the 2012 season Harden enjoyed much success with the team going to two Western Conference Finals in nine seasons in Houston.
Harden won multiple scoring titles and even a league MVP in 2018 during his time with the Rockets. The individual accomplishments were nice but the Rockets continued to suffer playoff upset after playoff upset and were unable to capture a championship during Harden’s tenure with the team. This played a major part in Harden demanding a trade from Houston this season which eventually landed him with the Nets.
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James Harden Says This Year Will Be Different
Harden’s inability to capture a championship in Houston had a lot to do with him carrying the majority of the offensive load for the Rockets. ‘The Beard’ would put up historically great numbers during the regular season and first two rounds of the playoffs but would notoriously run out of gas in the later rounds. Harden was the primary ball-handler, scorer, and assist man for the majority of his time with the team. According to Harden, it is one of the main things that made him want to come to the Nets.
“Going into the postseason, since I’ve been in Houston [in 2012], I’ve been playing heavy minutes,” Harden said to reporters via the Boston Globe. “This is an opportunity for me to get my body right going to the postseason with a clear body and clear mind to win 16 games. That’s what I came to Brooklyn for”
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Steve Nash Gives Update on James Harden
Harden has been off of the court since April 5. He reaggravated a hamstring injury in the beginning moments of a matchup with the New York Knicks. After originally being dated for a re-evaluation in 10 days, Harden suffered a setback in his on-court rehab on April 21 that would rule him out indefinitely. On Monday Nets fans got some great news about the potential return of their star player.
In a tweet on Monday from ESPN’s Malika Andrews Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash reports that Harden is on schedule to possibly return to the court before the Playoffs start next weekend.
“James Harden is scrimmaging and “trending in a positive direction,” Steve Nash said,” Andrews tweeted on Monday. “He didn’t commit to a return date, but maintains it’s “possible” that Harden plays in “one or more” of the Nets’ remaining regular-season games.”
James Harden Is Being Extremely Cautious With His Health
Last week the star guard gave a key update on the status of his return to the court. While the injury has kept him out for over a month, Harden’s absence away from the Nets is less about the severity of the injury and more about the team wanting to err on the side of caution.
“We wanted to be patient. As much as I love to hoop, I want to be out there, but you’ve got to be smart,” Harden said of his injury via ESPN “And for me, it was just, ‘Let’s knock this thing out, let’s get this thing healthy so we can make a push,” he said.
On the season Harden is averaging 25.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 11.0 assists per game. The Nets are in a clear position to capture a championship this year, getting ‘The Beard’ Back will only increase their chances.
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