The pesky hamstring injury that plagued James Harden during the final stretch of the NBA’s regular season appears to have reared its ugly head. Less than a minute into the Brooklyn Nets’ Eastern Conference Semifinal tilt against the Milwaukee Bucks, Harden walked to the locker room after awkwardly planting his foot on a drive.
Harden, while pushing the ball in transition, whipped a pass over to Joe Harris in the corner. But Harden immediately came up limp, holding his right hamstring as he walked off the floor. Play was stopped shortly after due to a Nets foul, at which point the former league MVP walked to the locker room.
James Harden is heading to the locker room with an apparent hamstring injury pic.twitter.com/r8hmUGHF05
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 5, 2021
A previous hamstring injury, one that was believed to have been completely remedied, cost Harden 20 games between April and May. The only game he played in that period of time only saw Harden take the floor for 4:22, at which point the hamstring injury caused him to leave the Nets’ game against the New York Knicks.
It goes without saying, but losing Harden would be absolutely brutal for Brooklyn’s hopes of taking down a really good Bucks team en route to winning a championship. We’ll keep you updated as more information comes out about his status moving forward.