Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash confirmed Friday that James Harden will indeed play against the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas after exiting the NBA's health and safety protocols on Thursday, per ClutchPoints' Nets beat reporter David Early. The Nets are also set to have DeAndre' Bembry available after his exit from protocols, as well as Nicolas Claxton after his recovery from a wrist injury.

However, it still looks like Kevin Durant won't make it out of protocols in time for the showdown against LeBron James and Co. Durant tested positive for COVID-19 last weekend along with Kyrie Irving, who isn't set to make his season debut anytime soon as he works to return to the team.

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While missing out on KD vs. LeBron is a huge bummer, at least Harden will be back to bring a bit more star power to this Christmas Day showdown. This game won't be nearly as hyped as initially expected with Durant (assuming he's indeed out), Irving and Anthony Davis all out, but at least each team has at least one of their stars.

Despite all of the Nets' issues this season, they're still in first place in the Eastern Conference at 21-9. Meanwhile, the Lakers are something of a train wreck right now, falling to 16-17 on the season after a shocking 138-110 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Los Angeles has lost four games in a row, with Davis' injury obviously playing a key role in the struggles.