When James Harden limped off the court less than a minute into Game 1 for the Brooklyn Nets against the Milwaukee Bucks, they immediate thought was that it was the perfect opportunity for Milwaukee to pounce. Instead, the Nets handled business in Games 1 and 2 to take a commanding lead.

The momentum had shifted and the thoughts had changed to how the Bucks could even hang around in this series against the Nets.

Milwaukee won an ugly Game 3 played in the 80's and then in Game 4 Kyrie Irving left and didn't return after a nasty looking ankle injury. The Bucks would go on to win, evening the series at 2-2 as it heads back to Nets territory in Brooklyn.

If Harden and Irving are to remain out, the Nets will need serious contributions from plenty of others to win this series against Milwaukee. Here are two Nets players who must step up with James Harden and Kyrie Irving both hurting.

Joe Harris

This one is beyond obvious. Joe Harris was great in Game 1, scoring 19 points for the Nets on 7-11 from the field and 5-9 from downtown. It's exactly the contributions Brooklyn needed and needs from their sharpshooter.

Since that Game 1 against Milwaukee, Harris has been dreadful.

He's started to hesitate on some clean looks, he's clanked brick after brick and it's left Nets fans scratching their heads.

In the last three games of this series, Harris is a combined 6-20 from three-point range and 9-31 from the field.

This is the same Joe Harris who shot a league best 47% from three-point range for the Nets during the regular season. Irving, Harden and Durant get all the talk and headlines for Brooklyn. But it's Harris who's been the constant sniper all year long. And that has fallen apart in the last three games.

The Nets don't need Joe Harris to drop 30 or more a night if Irving and Harden are out. It's slightly unrealistic and would heavy the burden that Harris might already be feeling.

Instead, Joe Harris needs to get back to the guy who rains in the three ball at a high percentage and provides instant offense for the Nets. If he can give Brooklyn around 20 points a night if Harden and Irving remain out, it will be a huge boost for Steve Nash's squad moving forward in this series.

Kevin Durant

Hear this one out.

Kevin Durant has been phenomenal in the playoffs, per the usual. Kevin Durant has dominated and taken over games, like everyone has become so accustomed to seeing throughout his career.

In this series for the Nets against the Bucks. KD has poured in point totals of: 29, 32, 30, 28. A model of consistency if there ever was one.

KD doesn't need to step up from the vantage point of, “Hey he's been struggling he needs to wake up.” He needs to step up from the angle of, without Irving and Harden, the Nets will need closer to 40 points a night from the former Finals MVP. And he's certainly capable of doing so.

In Games 3 and 4 in round one against the Celtics, Durant lit the nets on fire, scoring 39 and 42 points in the two games. That's what Brooklyn will need from him absent of their other two all-world players.

The fact is while Blake Griffin, Bruce Brown and others are great complimentary players, they likely don't have what it takes to be a true sidekick for KD going forward. Thus, more points and more shots from Durant.

It could be far worse for the Nets than letting Durant hoist up more shots if Irving and Harden are to miss more time going forward. He is, in fact, one of the greatest to ever lace up the shoes.

If Durant is able to hover around the 40 point mark going forward in this series, along with elevated contributions from Joe Harris on a more consistent level, the Nets may be able to pull this thing off against Milwaukee.

The NBA playoffs have been filled with teams missing its stars. The Nuggets played without Jamal Murray, the Jazz are currently running without Mike Conley. Chris Paul had dealt with a shoulder injury while Anthony Davis hobbled off into the offseason for the Lakers. The list goes on and on. The latest is the Nets, and they might be without the services of two of the best players in the world in Kyrie Irving and James Harden.

Thankfully for Brooklyn, they still have Kevin Durant. If you have KD, you always have a shot, regardless of who is missing around him. That's what the Nets mindset has to be going forward.