The Beard is back and Brooklyn Nets fans couldn’t be happier. In his first game back from a lengthy absence against the San Antonio Spurs, James Harden is already out here embarrassing people right off the bat.

The Nets All-Star flexed his handles package to turn Spurs rookie Devin Vassell’s legs into mush:

It feels like the Nets point guard hasn’t lost a step despite missing the team’s last 18 contests, and 20 of their last 21.

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But just when Brooklyn was finally about to have their vaunted Big 3 complete once again, they hit another injury snag. Kyrie Irving was forced to exit the team’s last game against the Chicago Bulls after eating a massive elbow from All-Star Nikola Vucevic.

The enigmatic guard was deemed out of their matchup against the Spurs with a facial contusion. The Brooklyn Nets stars have seemingly been passing the baton to one another. Just as one returns from injury, another one exits.

But while there are a number of detractors who remain skeptical that the team hasn’t played together enough, that might be to their advantage. The Nets stars have actually played with one another a ton, just not as a complete unit. Steve Nash can openly stagger their minutes to maximize each star’s impact on the court.