Is James Harden playing tonight vs Pelicans? James Harden injury update

As Kevin Durant is nearing his return to the court, the Brooklyn Nets seem to have lost another player to a hamstring injury. As reports, James Harden has injured his hamstring and will miss the next few games. Harden, carrying the team without Kyrie Irving and Durant for games, will be out for at least 10 games. 

James Harden return: Is James Harden playing tonight vs Pelicans? 

As per current reports, Harden will be missing the next couple of games for the Nets. The Brooklyn Nets will face the New Orleans Pelicans next. The Pelicans will visit the Nets on Wednesday, 7:30 PM EST (Thursday IST, 5:00 AM IST) at the Barclays Center. 

James Harden injury update: when is James Harden coming back?

A few days ago, Nets head coach Steve Nash spoke about Durant's return this week. Sometime later, Harden was sidelined, a day before Durant was expected to play. As per reports, an MRI revealed Harden's hamstring strain. Like most strains, Harden will try to recover and rehab and will be re-evaluated soon. 

Harden was injured last Wednesday, where he missed the final period during the Nets' win against the Houston Rockets. He was out for teams, before returning against the New York Knicks. However, Harden left the game as well. 

Now, though the Nets have Durant back, they will once again play without the big three on the court. After acquiring Harden in January, the Nets have had the three of them play together for only seven games. Durant was injured before the All-Star Game last month and has been out of the lineup for almost two months. 

The Nets, despite all the injuries, have remained favourites to win the title. While the players are injured right now, the lineup is expected to be back to its full strength by the playoffs. 

"Emotionally, we feel. It's tough to move on to the next thing... We just want James to be healthy. We want guys to be healthy. It was tough. You saw it in the flow of the game."

-Kyrie Irving on Nets playing w/o James Harden after injury

— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA)

After the team's 114-112 win over the New York Knicks on Monday night (Tuesday morning IST), Kyrie Irving spoke about Harden's injury, saying that they empathise with him emotionally. "It was a total team effort," Irving said about the win. "A lot of guys stepped up, especially our bench. They came in and made a difference, and when we got guys out, injury bug, we need that more than ever". 

NBA standings

As of now, the Nets are second on the Eastern Conference table with a 35-16 (win-loss record). The Philadelphia 76ers are ranked first with the same record. The Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks trail behind the Nets. On the other hand, the Pelicans are ranked 11th in the East with 22 wins and 28 losses. The Golden State Warriors are ranked 10th, while the Sacramento Kings are 12th. 

(Image credits: AP)