[UPDATE: Harden Upgraded To Questionable For Game 5, Plans To Play]
JUNE 15, 8:49am: Harden has been upgraded from “out” to “doubtful” for Game 5, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The Nets’ star still seems unlikely to play on Tuesday, but the team is now at least leaving the door open to the possibility.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter), Harden intends to test his hamstring during today’s shootaround in the hopes of receiving medical clearance.
JUNE 14, 4:19pm: All-Star Nets guard James Harden will join Kyrie Irving on the sidelines for Game 5 of Brooklyn’s second-round series against the Bucks, writes Malika Andrews of ESPN. Harden has missed all but 43 seconds of the series with a right hamstring strain, which he initially suffered late in the regular season. Head coach Steve Nash had told reporters earlier today that Harden was “working out.”
Irving sprained his right ankle in the Nets’ Game 4 loss on Sunday, and will miss at least Game 5. Though the point guard underwent an MRI today, the club didn’t provide an estimate for his recovery or return.
As Andrews notes, this will leave just forward Kevin Durant available among the Nets’ three All-Stars when the series returns to Brooklyn on Tuesday. The Bucks have rallied back to tie up the series at 2-2.
With both Harden and Irving out to start the second half of Game 4 on Sunday, Nash started point guard Mike James and forward Jeff Green alongside incumbent starters Durant, Joe Harris and Blake Griffin.
Across the six playoff games he was available for Brooklyn this season, Harden averaged 23.2 PPG, 8.8 APG, 6.2 RPG, 1.7 SPG and 0.8 BPG, while sporting a slash line of .556/.475/.909.
Bucks in 6
After tonight will it change to Bucks in 7?
Bucks have to man up. They don’t always do so good at that.
No swift. Nets are done. So you think Big Noise is all you need. How about showing up for gms. All the WAGONEERS who get paid to watch this game. Don’t know Squat. All noise nothing but NOISE. Now WaT
Quite ……….. crickets
Interesting that you wait until two stars are injured to play big chest and call out Nets fans. Even with Harden out, the Nets made the back to back future of the league look hopeless. If Lebrons ring last year was fake then this year is equally as fraudulent. Players are dropping like flies. If you think that the Bucks are proving anything other than coach Buds lack of dependability this series, you haven’t been watching.
Back to back mvp**
Bucks have all the pressure they better win now. NO EXCUSES!!!!
If the Bucks lose game 5 (and either game 6 or 7) with both Harden and Kyrie sidelined with injuries, Budenholzer deserves to lose his position as head coach. The Nets are practically gift-wrapping his job here.
I would add a significant shuffling of players (Middleton?) would also need to be seriously considered.
Agreed if they lose to a Big 3 Minus 2 then I think this entire roster needs to be nuked. Bud’s the tip of the iceberg.
In fact, even if they win this series this is still Year 3 of the Giannis-Middleton duo running into serious issues when isolated in a high level playoff series. Jrue hasn’t been the answer to their issues. And if anything Giannis seems to be regressing.
How is it fraudulent? Players get hurt. It’s the playoffs. You play hard. I won’t call the team that wins a championship “fraudulent”. They busted their ass to get there. It sucks that Harden and Kyrie are hurt but thems the breaks.
That is exactly why it is a risk to build a team top heavy! They gave up a plethora of key good role players around 2 stars already to have 3 stars and lesser role players. Now that 2 of the stars are done now there is no one to help Durant the lone star.
If any playoff team lost 2 of its top three players they would be done.
Excatly …. Harden was never going to play. Can I be only one to see that. Kyrie is a real Injury. It happens. All Noise no substance. Two players coming back from serious injuries. Another a fat diva, who thinks he can drop 35lbs and win. Is all Noise to me. Show me…… well the Show is Over
Harden was never going to play? Yet he is now upgraded to questionable and says he plans to suit up for game 5.
I detect a lot of jealousy here for your team’s crosstown rival.
You have a point. But I was thinking more if it was just KD and Kyrie with the other role players they had amd Kyrie went down. KD and Levert along with the others could probably be enough to get a little further. But no doubt you are right. 2 out of 3 top players down spells disaster on any team.
Interesting you dont get it. This is about all the noise from media. The so called experts. The geniuses who know this gm. And are always quick to jump on a story. Most fans are just that, uninformed. These three players are all coming back from injuries. They have never played together. Nets don’t play D. Yet it’s a Finals lock. This is what a Bron does to league. Makes others think they can do it too. Makes teams think they can do it. A team takes time to build. Chemistry takes a relationship and buying in from players. Bron makes it look easy. Cause he’s the ultimate team player, maybe EVER. Only Bill Russell is probably there. Arrogance is not enough to win. Harden is not even a committed star. When you think you can just put three great players on same team. And expect to win it all. It says more about you than the players. When Bron went to Heat. JVG said they could win every yr. Analysts said they couldn’t be beat. Bron said they would win seven. Yet no one spoke of a WEAK East. Which this East isn’t. Heat won two and lost two. Team chemistry is not having great players. It’s having RIGHT players playing great. Not players who think they can show up for playoffs and win. You don’t respect the Game. Game owes you no respect. WAGONEERS ……
When players go like this^^^Al, is why the games keep going backnforth in momentum!
Darn can they really not activate Dins… he could be a hero! He wants to.
KD legacy game alert
With all the hate about lebron and super teams.. Kd has always had 2 minimum-all stars next to him..okc he had Westbrook, ibaka and harden.. no rings.. had to join curry, thompson and green and then had to join Irving and recruit harden to join nets..still just 2-2 in finals with all that talent as teammates..it’s kds chance to show he can carry a team or fold..
Lebron gets the hate because he started it, KD just did what he did but gets hated on 100x worse. If he somehow went to the Cavs instead of GSW the media would have kissed his butt the entire time.
GSW = not Lebron = bad, yeah yeah we get it – only non-Bron stans can understand reality. Bron stans have mental illness.
Because Lebron is an massive A-hole, that’s the difference
Actually Grant Hill and TMac started it in 2000. They nearly added Duncan in the mix too. But go off.
LeBron is higher profile, he’s higher ranked, he’s basically made the case publicly that he’s the GOAT, with that comes more scrutiny.
Also, KD received quite a bit a blowback after signing w/ GSW.
Brooklyn’s done
Let’s hope Brooklyn is done. I call it Karma that KD didn’t goto MSG.
F NY MSG
KD n Kyrie have been licking Brons shorts since the Heat. They became so called Elite. So they think they can do it too. So joined forces in Bklyn. They didn’t really believe it. Otherwise they wouldn’t have gone after Harden. Real life has no short cuts. It takes more than just three great players to win. And then you think you can just slap it together for playoffs. Please go play Tennis. This is a team sport not a Three Star sport
Big Threes are not efficient, never were.
Like it or not, James Harden was the best NBA player this year for roughly a 30~40% stretch of the year. If he was sooo out of shape, he sure did hide it well
Seems some people are relishing these 2 injs while simultaneously claiming a victory lap on the {pre-mature} Nets death
I’ll be rooting like hell for KD to go nutz game 5 and I’ve been wanting Utah v Mil all along. My only desires for this series now is that it goes 7. Would be nice to have EVERYONE on the court for that one as well
Yes, those who predict series victories after one or two games get burned.
If Al would type his posts he would not get so carried away with his attachments. He sounds like an EdgarAllenPoe guy.