When Will Brooklyn Nets’ Superstar James Harden Return in the Playoffs?

The Brooklyn Nets have arguably been the best team in the playoffs so far. With the star power of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, the Nets have been unstoppable and have a pretty complete roster.

After finishing as the second seed in the regular season, the Nets destroyed the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, and are well on their way to brush aside the Milwaukee Bucks with a commanding 2-0 lead.

While the Nets have been dominant, the biggest cause of concern has been the injury to James Harden. ‘The Beard‘ did play the series against the Celtics, but the Nets’ guard suffered from yet another hamstring injury in game 1 against the Bucks and left the game immediately.

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When will James Harden return for the Brooklyn Nets?

Harden has always been a durable player in the NBA, but this season, the 32-year-old suffered from a terrible hamstring injury. This injury certainly was a big blow for the 2018 MVP as he missed 21 games in the regular season.

While the 9-time All-Star looked in fine form in the playoffs against the Celtics, Harden hobbled off the floor in the first 40 seconds of the game 1 against the Bucks. Despite missing their star guard, the Nets have continued to be an elite team despite Harden’s absence.

Steve Nash speaks about Harden’s return to the lineup

Steve Nash and Co. so far have diagnosed Harden’s injury as hamstring tightness and have not declared it as a strain. While this is a great sign for Nets and their fans, the organization will be pretty careful in handling the Harden’s injury.

In the regular season, ‘The Beard’ had re-injured his hamstring during the recovery process. Given that the Nets have had a comfortable series against the Bucks so far, Durant and Co. aren’t taking any risks with Harden’s recovery.

Ruled out for game 3, Steve Nash hasn’t given any particular timeline for Harden’s return. While a grade 1 hamstring strain generally takes about a week to recover, the Nets are being extremely careful with Harden and want him at a 100 percent.

The two games at Milwaukee will play a major role in determining Hardens return. If the team struggles and the Bucks make a comeback, then we might see ‘the Beard’ return to the starting lineup very soon. Given the severity of the injury, James Harden will certainly make his return very soon in the playoffs.