The dust hasn't even settled on the Brooklyn Nets' first-round victory over the Boston Celtics and James Harden already has his eyes set on the challenge ahead.
After the Nets impressively took down the Celtics in Game 5 on Tuesday to clinch the series, Harden made it abundantly clear in his postgame interview that Giannis Antetokounmpo and his Bucks are on his mind (h/t Malika Andrews of ESPN):
How quickly is James Harden turning his attention to Milwaukee? “I’m thinking about them right now.”
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) June 2, 2021
Harden was tremendous on Tuesday as he led the Nets to a victory over a shorthanded Celtics side. The former league MVP notched another triple-double as Brooklyn secured a spot in the second round.




Next up for them is reigning back-to-back MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, who themselves made quick work of the Miami Heat in the first round. The Bucks and Celtics have emerged as the two most dominant teams in the opening round of the playoffs, so we're in store for quite a matchup between these two powerhouse sides.
Harden has had his fair share of playoff disappointments in the past and is hoping that it's a different story now that he's with the mighty Nets. He knows full well that the job is far from over and that at this point, there's no time to celebrate.
Then again, this is James Harden we're talking about here, so he's probably going to be doing a bit of celebrating after the Celtics win. He'll worry about Giannis and Co. tomorrow.