Harden out indefinitely after setback
The Nets said that All-Star guard James Harden will remain sidelined “indefinitely” after experiencing what they called a “setback while conducting an on-court rehab session” for his strained right hamstring on Monday. The team added that Harden received an MRI on Tuesday that confirmed the setback.
“We’ll rehabilitate him and get him back whenever we can. Who knows when that will be,” Nets coach Steve Nash said before Tuesday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans. “But we’ll support James and support our performance team in getting him back in best condition as possible. Hopefully that comes sooner rather than later, but there’s no guarantee.”
Harden had missed the past six games after playing only four minutes against the Knicks April 5. Harden had traveled with the Nets this week for games in Miami, New Orleans and Tampa to complete 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 workouts. The Nets had liked Harden’s progress until Monday’s workout.
“He just felt it. He didn’t stumble or fall or anything out of the ordinary,”
Nash said. “He just felt something maybe in the ballpark of a strain. Just a setback and then the scan revealed he had suffered a setback. So not much more to it other than just disappointment, and that we have to rebuild and get him going again.”
Although the Nets (38-19) trail the 76ers (39-18) by one game for first place in the Eastern Conference, Harden’s injury opens up potential concerns on the team’s health and chemistry with only 15 regular-season games remaining.