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Harden reveals what everyone already knew, he was a lot more hurt than Nets let on

James Harden was essentially playing on one leg in Games 5,6, and 7, but he gave it his al nonetheless. Following the Game 7 loss, Harden told reporters that he had a Grade 2 hamstring strain with a normal recovery time of 4-6 weeks. Harden took barely a fraction of that time to heal the injury before charging back to provide a lift in Game 5 despite not scoring a single point.
With each subsequent game, Harden looked to be moving more freely and scored 16 points in Game 6 and 22 in Game 7. Even so, Brooklyn's hobbled star faced an uphill battle to get anywhere back to full strength even if the Nets advanced past the Bucks. Kyrie Irving was seen limping along the sidelines during Game 7 and the prospect of him playing in the next round was doubtful at best. A second round exit was a bitter pill to swallow for all Nets'fans, but the reality is, health was not on their side and the Nets big 1.5 faced an uphill climb to advance deeper into the playoffs with their star players suffering from significant injuries.

Basketball Gods not on Nets' side as injuries derail Brooklyn's title hopes

The Nets faced their fair share of adversity this season, but injuries and a championship worthy Buck team proved to be too much to overcome in the end.
It's easy to question Steve Nash's strange rotations or how he leaned too heavily on Kevin Durant's 1-on-1 prowess on the offensive side, but injuries didn't allow the Nets to advance beyond the semifinal round. Brooklyn had its big three together for merely nine regular season games and five playoff games with a combination of hamstring injuries, ankle ailments and contact tracing keeping the team's top stars from staying on the court. Winning an NBA championship you nehealt mainingredients: talen and luck. Brooklyn was undoubtedly the most talented team in the league throughout the year, but luck was not on its side. The Nets are forced to regroup, surround Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving with complimentary pieces and have another go at it with the hopes of staying healthy and whole throughout next year's campaign.

Questionable coaching, lack of bench support doom Nets in painful Game 7 loss

Steve Nash is a rookie coach and he looked every bit the part in the Brooklyn's gut wrenching 115-111 overtime defeat to Milwaukee in Game 7.
The Nets snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with an otherworldly jumper from Durant to send the game to the extra session. The Nets star's foot just touched the line on the attempt and came within millimeters of becoming the go ahead basket with one second left.
Alas, it wasn't meant to be as Steve Nash tightened his rotations unfathomably to dole out just 20 minutes to his bench of Jeff Green and Landry Shamet who scored no points. Durant scored 48 in 53 minutes, while James Harden had 22 in the same amount of runtime. Nash wanted to ride or die with his big guns, but both were gassed and had nothing left in the tank in overtime. Joe Harris struggled again from the outside missing two wide open 3-pointers down the stretch and managed just ten points. The Nets turn their attention to next year as they consider extensions for the big three, hope Nash continues to grow as a neophyte coach, and rebuild a bench that came up short in the series.

No Sleep Till Brooklyn, Nets bank on home court to carry them to Game 7 win

It's all in the line on Thursday night with the Brooklyn Nets needing a win in the friendly confines of Barclays Center to advance to the conference final round. The undermanned, banged up, and at times disjointed Nets wouldn't even be in this position if not for the otherworldly play of Kevin Durant and the gutsy nature of James Harden to push through his injury.
The Nets were 28-8 in the regular season in Brooklyn and 6-0 during this playoff run, illustrating the positive impact the crowd has made on the team's play. Despite winning Game 5 in Brooklyn, the Nets fell in an early hole and have been prone to slow starts throughout the series. Brooklyn will need to get the home crowd involved early and often if it hopes to survive against the Bucks and face the winner of the Sixers, Atlanta series.

Kyrie Irving to miss Game 7, not ruled out if Nets advance

Kyrie Irving will not play
in Game 7 against the Bucks according to, head coach Steve Nash confirmed on Friday. The Nets weren't planning to have their point guard back in the lineup, but the coach didn't rule out that he could be back in his team survives a do or die Game 7. Irving was undercut by Giannis Antetokounmpo in the second quarter of Game 2 after fully turning his ankle following a layup attempt. The injury caused Irving immense pain and he was helped to his feet by the training staff before limping to the locker room on his own power. That day, Irving left the arena in a walking boot and with crutches. Clearly, Irving's injury is significant, but at least the nets have added motivation to win Game 7 with the prospect of their point guard possibly returning at some point during the postseason.

With Nets season on the line, Joe Harris overdue for breakout game

Joe Harris hasn't reached double digits in scoring since Game 2 of the Nets-Bucks series. Brooklyn's deadeye shooter has gone ice cold from the perimeter and is dire need of a vintage performance if he hopes to keep his team alive.
The Nets need to shift away from isolation ball and scheme their way to score over the century mark, but Steve Nash is reluctant to put the ball in anyone's hands but James Harden or Kevin Durant. One of Brooklyn's Glue Guys, Harris has been victimized on the defensive side of the ball with Khris Middleton going on a scoring barrage. Brooklyn has its work cut out for it in Game 7, but if Harris can play close to the caliber he did in Games 1 and 2 and not how he's played the last four games, some of the pressure will be off Harden and Durant to carry the scoring load.

Nets never thought offense would be their problem, but it is

Five times during the NBA's shortened 72 game season, the Brooklyn Nets failed to score 100 points. So far though six games in the series with the Bucks, Brooklyn was held under 100 points three times, losing all three times that happened. The Nets are down Kyrie Irving and with James Harden at half speed, but the offense has become too Kevin Durant reliant without much of the supporting cast contributing at the level they did during the regular season. Brooklyn earned home court in this serie for a reason and Game 7 at Barclays will be nothing short of a phenomenal atmosphere.
The Nets' bench has struggled on the road, but in the friendly confines of their home arena, expect the role players to play a much bigger role. In a win or go home scenario, Steve Nash and company want to put the ball in their best players' hands, but the offense has been isolation heavy without the dribble handoff, pick and roll and cutting action that allowed the team to flourish even without their Big three for major chunks of the season. The Nets need a complete team effort to rid of Milwaukee once and for all and advance to their first Eastern Conference finals since 2003.

Nets win Game 6 if these three things happen

The Nets path to victory on Thursday night won't be an easy one, but here are three things they must do in order to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. 1. Start Fast! In Games 3 and 5 the Nets were buried by Milwaukee early only to stage two historic comebacks with only Game 5's outcome going in favor of Brooklyn. The Nets are down Kyrie Irving, James Harden is hobbled, and Kevin Durant is coming off arguably the best playoff performance of his career playing all 48 minutes on Tuesday night. Brooklyn can ill-afford to climb in an early hole and expect an undermanned squat to make yet a third double digit second half come back in this series.
2. Force Giannis to score from the perimeter. Giannis Antetokounmpo is having historically bad playoff performance from the free-throw line, so Brooklyn cannot allow any uncontested layups and if the Greek Freak has a free path to the basket they need to send him to the charity stripe. Blake Griffin will likely draw the assignment to try to hold down the Bsuck star, but expect them that's to use as many fouls as possible and force Antetokounmpo to make shots from the perimeter and from the place he's the least comfortable the free throw line. 3. Limit careless turnovers. If the Nets are going to be forced to play a Game 7, Milwaukee has to beat them and Brooklyn can't beat itself. Understandably, Harden was rusty and made a few mistakes passing the ball in Game 5, but Steve Nash's crew has to pay extra close attention to making smart decisions with the basketball because turnovers lead to run outs on the Milwaukee side, which will send the crowd into a frenzy.

Joe Harris' shooting funk is killing Brooklyn

Joe Harris is the type of player every team wants in its locker room. A selfless player, model citizen, and great teammate, but even one of the Nets most popular players and lethal outside shooters has some down periods. Unfortunately, that time is now when he's needed the most. Can Joe-E-Buckets reclaim his outside shooting touch?
The time is now for the NBA's most a accurate 3-point sharpshooter to provide Kevin Durant and a hobbled James Harden with some much needed scoring punch. In Game 5, Jeff Green poured in 27 to complinent Durant's epic 49 point outing and on Thursday night, Harris has to be that xfactor to push Brooklyn over the top in Game 6.

Nets Big 1.5 of Durant, Harden have enough to close out fragile Bucks in 6

Kevin Durant put on an all world performance in Game 5 against Milwaukee, but Steve Nash and company can't exactly bank on that type of legendary performance again from the team's only healthy star.
James Harden was not himse lf in Game 5, but his presence on the court in the form of vocal leadership and making the right pass despite a woeful shooting night.
The Bucks on the otherhand let a golden opportunity slip through their grasp as Brooklyn rose from the dead and snatched the series lead with a monumental comeback at Barclays. Yes, the Bucks will have the home crowd behind them, but Milwaukee hasn't always played the smartest basketball and could start to feel the pressure of another playoff elimination for a championship hopeful squad. Expect the Nets to help Durant score by committee as the Mike Budenholzer will send two and three defenders at Brooklyn's primary score to take the ball out of his hands and force somebody else to beat them. If are able to start fast, take the home crowd out of it early, and play smart basketball, they are very well primed to knock Milwaukee out once and for all.
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