The Houston Rockets will play their first game without the services of James Harden since sustaining a grade-2 hamstring strain against the Lakers on Sunday. Before Sunday's win against LA, Houston had lost 5 in a row, amidst some major late game mental lapses by James Harden.
Now some major questions arise, what does this mean for Houston in terms of their playoff seeding, team chemistry, depth, flow, coaching, etc..
Harden is obviously an integral part of Houston's offense...which is an integral part of Houston's success as the coaching staff aren't the most interested in preaching defense. Going forward, there's main points to focus on in the interim
Time is of the Essence
Harden needs to take his time with this injury. Daryl Morey is on record recently stating that the Rockets are 'obsessed' with beating the Warriors, and if that's the goal, then you accept that this injury occurred in January instead of March and you give him all the time he needs.
Hamstrings are tricky, where some players return ahead of schedule and end of aggravating the same leg multiple times after due to an improper healing period. With Harden's being a partial tear, it's advisable to steer toward the longer timetable.
It was announced he'd be re-evaluated in two weeks, but realistically this could keep Harden sidelined for about 4 weeks or a month.
“We will definitely have to adjust how we play, the man averages 30 points a game,” Houston point guard Chris Paul told reporters after Tuesday’s practice. “We will be OK, though. We have a great group. We have guys who have played a lot of minutes and now it means a little more.”
The downside of this is the burden it will put on a 32-year old point guard who has been dealing with lower extremity issues seemingly all season. Houston will be banking on D'Antoni's ability to manage minutes properly on a team that already plays a rather short rotation.
Seeding Implications
All in all, the Rockets will be alright. They're number 1 in their division, and very likely may slide to the number 3 spot overall in the western conference, being usurped by the Spurs, but that's certainly not the end of the world.
Depending on how you look at it, this injury could also give Harden a well-needed mental break after weeks of barking at referees and silly offensive fouls during clutch possessions.
The Rockets need Harden as his best self, physically and mentally, for their title run and they're now entering crunch time for the pieces to fall into place.