The Beard is back, and James Harden immediately showed why the Brooklyn Nets are a terrifying powerhouse of a team that will be ready to wreck souls in the playoffs.
Harden returned from a lengthy absence due to a hamstring injury on Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs. The former MVP actually came off the bench, but he didn't miss a beat in a swaggerific performance that saw him score 18 points and hand out 11 assists in 26 minutes. He also grabbed seven rebounds to nearly notch a triple-double in a throwback performance to his days as the sixth man of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Harden sliced and diced the Spurs' hapless defense, mixing in his exquisite passing with a trio of triples and three other buckets. Of course, he also got to the charity stripe five times.
The Nets star was feeling himself during the game and afterward:
New SportsCenter Essay: James Harden returned for Brooklyn — and pulled out a little “swag dance” to go with his 18 points. But when the Nets get their full group together, they’ll really have a reason to twirl. 💃🏽🕺🏽 pic.twitter.com/ltxQUteyJR
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) May 13, 2021
Harden has every right to be feeling good about himself and the Nets as the playoffs approach. As good as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are, it's Harden's presence that has them as an unstoppable juggernaut. Brooklyn is now 28-7 with Harden this season, compared to 11-11 without him since the trade.
James Harden’s stats with the Nets are bonkers, with averages of 25.1 points, 11.0 assists and 8.6 rebounds in 35 games. He's shooting 47.1% from the field and 36.7% on 3-pointers. He was on his way to being a legitimate MVP candidate before the hamstring injury and ensuing setback kept him out too many games.
While there's some concern about how Harden, Durant and Irving haven't played much together (still just seven gams after Kyrie missed Wednesday's game), all that matters is they're healthy for the playoffs. They can hopefully use the first round as a way to build some of that chemistry ahead of a tougher second-round matchup.
There's just too much talent in place for this not to succeed in a big way, even with the limited playing time together. As for the defensive concerns, these Nets will surely ramp up that energy when needed, and they've found something nice in terms of rim protection with Nic Claxton. Brooklyn can play defense when it wants to do it.
The Nets are the clear favorite in the East, even if they fall short of getting that top seed, and the odds also have them as the favorite to win it all. It's hard to bet against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, but as long as Brooklyn is healthy, this Nets team looks like the team to beat.
Follow Us
Subscribe