On January 11, Beijing time, the Nets will play against the Blazers on the road, and after the last victory over the Spurs, the Nets are very hopeful to win the Blazers to win consecutive wins. But worryingly, before the game, the Nets officially announced that Harden would miss the game due to an injury that overextended his left knee. Harden's injury is still a very big blow to the Nets, as the team's tactical core and offensive end initiator, in the 38 games that the Nets have played this season, Harden has not missed a game except for triggering the health and safety agreement to miss 4 games, and he has always been known as a model worker, and now he finally can't hold back.
So far this season, Harden has started in 34 games, averaging third in the league in 36.9 minutes per game, contributing 22.4 points, 9.7 assists and 8.1 rebounds, shooting 41.7% from the field. As a heavy guard, Harden is also very good physically fit, and when he played for the Rockets, Harden was known for his durability and no injury. But since joining the Nets, Harden's body has not been able to resist the death of head coach Nash. Just after the start of last season's Eastern Conference semifinals, Harden strained his hamstring without confrontation, which directly affected the Nets' plan to fight for the title, and Harden, who has never been injured, suddenly suffered this injury because of excessive use in the regular season.
Harden's scoring average and offensive efficiency per game this season are career lows since joining the Rockets, and although the hamstring injury has healed physically, it is still the direct reason why he can't get back. As the season progressed, Harden had slowly regained his form, but now he was injured again, and head coach Nash was still the culprit. Due to Irving's absence this season, coupled with the instability of the Nets' overall team status, head coach Nash has no achievements in the employment arrangement and court tactics, and can only try to ensure the record by using the two absolute cores of Durant and Harden, and such employment will only increase the risk of Duha's injury in the second half of the season.
Harden has played a total of 8 games in the past eight games since his return from the health and safety agreement, and in those 8 games, in addition to losing to the Grizzlies and Bucks, the two games that surrendered early, Harden averaged a terrifying 40.6 minutes per game, even far exceeding his season average of playing time. It is worth mentioning that so far this season, Durant has averaged 37.2 minutes per game in the league, ranking second in the league, and For such a star who has suffered from a ruptured Achilles tendon, Nash still has no mercy.
Nash's way of employing people, in addition to reflecting his incompetence as a head coach, although it can guarantee a good record for the team, it will certainly increase the risk of Duha's major injury late in the season. For the Nets, if they can't compete for the championship this season, the Big Three are likely to be bulk, and the Nets want to compete for the title, at least to ensure the health of the Big Three, but according to Nash's method of employment, even Harden can't hold back, and I don't know what kind of injuries he and Durant will have in the future.