Rockets’ Harden could miss six weeks
Hamstring strains vary in severity, with more tests necessary
James Harden, who had been virtually indestructible throughout his rise to the top echelon of NBA stardom, suffered the most severe injury of his nine-year career Sunday, sidelining him for weeks as the Rockets try to recapture the success that had placed them on top of the standings just a week before.
Harden was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain Monday, the team announced. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks, but a Grade 2 hamstring strain involves a partial tear of the hamstring belly that can keep a player out for anywhere from two to three weeks for a minor tear to four to six weeks for a more severe injury.
The NBA’s leading scorer, Harden has missed just one game because of injury in the past four seasons.
“There are multiple muscle groups that make up a hamstring complex,” Dr. Steven Flores said, while emphasizing that he was speaking of Grade 2 muscle strains in general rather than his examination and treatment of Harden. “The injuries generally occur to one muscle belly out of the group. They are graded based on severity, 2 being a significant injury, but not something that requires surgery. It generally heals on its own with time, regaining function. That’s a variable time
frame.
“A Grade 1 is essentially very small micro tears. A Grade 3 is complete disruption of the muscle. Everything in between is essentially a Grade 2 and there is no real distinction between different types of partial tears.”
Harden, 28, felt a “pull” in the muscle on a drive in the final minute of the fourth quarter against the Lakers on Sunday, immediately doubling over in pain. He limped to the locker room and was unable to bend his leg after treatment following the game.
The Rockets won in double overtime, snapping a five-game losing streak. But the loss of Harden is the latest in a series of injuries that have filled the Rockets’ season, especially since their 14-game winning streak catapulted them to the NBA’s best record as recently as Christmas Day. Harden scored 40 points with 11 assists Sunday, giving him twice as many games with doubledigit assists and at least 30 points as any NBA player. He is averaging a careerbest 32.3 points per game while playing fewer minutes per game than he has in his six seasons as a starter with the Rockets despite the injuries that increased his playing time.
Several milestones
Harden finished 2017 on Sunday with the secondmost combined points and assists in a calendar year, behind only Nate Archibald in 1972, according to Elias.
Harden has scored at least 20 points in every game this season, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players to score at least 20 in each of his team’s first 35 games. He has three 50-point games this season, scoring 51 in consecutive games and a career-high 56 against the Jazz. With 35 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds and five steals against the Cavaliers, he became the first player in league history with those numbers since steals became an official statistic in the 1973-74 season.
The Rockets have gone 13-0 this season when every member of their starting lineup has been available, but have battled significant injuries since the preseason. Chris Paul missed 14 games with a bruised knee and three with a strained groin before returning Friday in Washington. Center Clint Capela missed five of the Rockets’ seven games, first with a bruised foot and then with a fractured orbital, before returning Sunday.
The Rockets are betterequipped to play without Harden with Paul back and showing no signs of the groin strain Sunday, when he scored 15 points in the two overtimes after Harden’s departure.
The Rockets (26-9) are second in the Western Conference, trailing the Warriors by two games in the race for the NBA’s best record.
Rockets hope for best
Having struggled to end their losing streak, the Rockets must deal with a much greater loss while hoping for the shorter rehabilitation period.
“It’s not a quick return at all,” said Dr. Walter Lowe, the Texans’ team physician who also works with the Rockets but has not examined Harden. “We use PRP these days, that’s platelet rich plasma. You spin down blood, take platelets that have a bunch of healing factors in them. We use drugs orally that prevent fibrosis and scarring and all of that helps a lot. But the fast ones are two to three weeks and the slow ones of the Grade 2s are four to six weeks.
“Basketball is a tough one to come back from because you do nothing but run nonstop. Hamstrings are just so variable from guy to guy, you get the best read about a week into it as far as what the time frame will be.”