The Brooklyn Nets got an early blow on Saturday in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Milwaukee Bucks, as James Harden appeared to sustain an injury.
In the opening seconds of the first quarter, Harden had to leave the game with what appeared to be a right hamstring injury. As Tim Bontemps of ESPN noted, the Nets guard walked straight to the locker room after the injury and was even unable to run or jog.
James Harden heads to the locker room with what looks like a hamstring injury.
Bad news for the Nets.pic.twitter.com/eDVCbgET6S
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 5, 2021
It looked like James Harden hurt his hamstring on his first drive of the game. He immediately grabbed at his right hamstring, never ran – or even jogged – again, and walked straight back to the locker room.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) June 5, 2021
The injury is certainly concerning for the Nets, especially considering James Harden's recent history with the said issue. Back in April, the Beard missed 18 straight games due to the same hamstring injury in his right leg. While he was supposed to return earlier than that, he suffered a setback during his rehab and had to be sidelined longer.




With that said, it is worrisome to see Harden re-injure the same area. The severity of the issue is still unknown, but Brooklyn is expected to be more cautious with him moving forward. He has already been ruled out for the rest of the game with what the team is calling a right hamstring strain.
Nets say James Harden is out for the game with a right hamstring strain.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) June 6, 2021
While the Nets still have two superstars in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, they really need Harden if they want to win the NBA title. The former Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets star brings a lot of versatility on the offensive end, and the fact that he can contribute on other areas is a huge factor for a squad that has a high focus on offense.
Hopefully, Harden's injury is not that serious and he won't be sidelined for long.