Though Harden did not show any impact from his strained right hamstring in the first round against the Boston Celtics, averaging 27.8 points per game, fans didn’t get to see what he could do against the Bucks.
If the Nets are going to be without Harden for any period of time, look for head coach Steve Nash to use a combination of Mike James and Bruce Brown in his backcourt alongside Kyrie Irving. Even with James Harden sidelined for the time being the Nets still have a former MVP with Kevin Durant and on top of that the craftiness and court vision of Kyrie Irving.
Even without the full power of the Nets’ big three they did manage to pull off a win against the reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo despite the superstar scoring 34 points. Durant and Irving combined for 54 points along with an additional 18 points from Blake Griffin.
Can the Nets win without Harden?
Injuries have been a huge factor for this Nets team all year as the big three only played eight games together and the loss of Spencer Dinwiddie to a torn ACL earlier in the year. Through it all, they have persevered and are the second seed and have the opportunity to move to the Eastern Conference finals if they can beat this Bucks team.
If game one was any indication of how this series is going to go then it looks like we will see the Nets in the conference finals, but it would be a mistake to count out this Bucks team who have a real chance of a Finals run if they get through Brooklyn.
As Brooklyn looks to take a commanding 2-0 series lead, all eyes are on the Bucks’ role players such as Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday to give Giannis Antetokounmpo the help he needs and tie the series up at 1-1 on Monday June 7.
