Harden likely to return after missing seven games
The Rockets spoke of James Harden’s return to the floor on Thursday as if it were as specifically scheduled as the Fourth of July.
Coach Mike D’Antoni was even more detailed, saying that unless Harden suffered any setbacks from his first practice since his hamstring injury he would be listed as probable.
Harden remained a bit more cautious. D’Antoni worried, though not about Harden or his hamstring.
“I’m as good as it can get,” Harden said. “We’ll see. We’ll see how (Wednesday) goes, first time practicing. We’ll just take it for what it is, try to work, try to go through practice without any pain or discomfort and see how tomorrow goes.”
Harden, who missed more than two weeks since he suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain on New Year’s Eve, had done enough oncourt work for the Rockets to be confident he will not have any issues during a practice. But how he feels the day after will be a final test. Limit on minutes
Harden missed seven games with the injury and will likely be restricted to 24 or 25 minutes against the Timberwolves, D’Antoni said.
Asked about the longest layoff of his career, Harden said, “Don’t remind me, please.
“I’m just happy to be back out here with the coaching staff and the team preparing for a game. It just feels good to be out here, around your teammates, that group, get energy and just hooping again. Two and a half weeks felt like a very long time. I look back at it and just say it was needed mentally, physically and just to get my mind right, obviously my body as well. I don’t want to go through that again.”
The Rockets went 4-3 without Harden but are coming off a particularly disconcerting loss to the Clippers on Monday. That could mirror the trend when Chris Paul returned after missing 14 games with a bruised knee. The Rockets lost badly at home to the Raptors but felt so buoyed by getting Paul back, they rolled through a 90-point first half in Phoenix to start a 14-game winning streak.
As much as the Rockets could get a similar lift from the returns of Harden and Nene, who is listed as questionable, D’Antoni said they cannot look at the return of key players (Luc Mbah a Moute returned on Monday) as a panacea.
“I think there’s a lift, but there’s also a (potential attitude of) ‘we’re OK,’” D’Antoni said. “You’re never OK in the NBA. You should play with your hair on fire. If you don’t, you’re going to get beat. You get them back and think you’re OK. It’s like when you’re on the road for five games. The next game at home is dangerous, the returning game, because you’re at home and think you’re OK. No, you’re not.
“That’s kind of the mindset we have to have. We’re not OK. We’re in second place, four games up on the third-place team. We’re OK. No, we’re not. That could evaporate. We have to play harder and we have to play better.”
They also will play shorthanded again with Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green suspended for the next two games for their roles in an incident after Monday’s loss.
That will lead to the Rockets’ 10th starting lineup of the season, with their preferred lineup together for just 13 of the season’s first 44 games, winning them all. More warnings
The Rockets are 15-0 when Clint Capela, Harden and Paul play together, but D’Antoni quickly said, “You cannot take anything for granted. You cannot think this will last forever. Losing is the same way. You’re not losers. You’ve got to stay even-keeled. You better play hard. If you don’t play like it’s the most important thing in the world at that moment, you’re in for a long night.”
With that, he had given a sample of his message of the day in the video room.
The training room, however, brought good news. While Harden was noncommittal, in that area his coach sounded optimistic about the first step to putting together another winning streak following a tough loss and the return of a star.
“If everything is normal and he feels good and tomorrow he wakes up good, he’ll be probable,” D’Antoni said.
“He’ll probably be a little rusty. A lot of it depends on him and how he feels, his wind and all that. But he’s James Harden. He’s going to play well and he’s going to impactful.”