James Harden took center stage for the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday as he led his team to a 109-99 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Harden has been a full participant for all of Brooklyn's first 15 games of the season, and at this point, his minutes are adding up.
After Wednesday's victory, Harden shared his thoughts on the load he has been asked to take on early in the season. When asked if there was a conscious decision to make changes to the team's load management plan as compared to last year, the former league MVP came up with a bit of a cryptic response:
“I don’t think it was a change, I just think you know if I don’t play or Kevin don’t play it’s like we’re already down numbers. You know what I mean?” Harden said, via Dave Early of ClutchPoints.
Kevin Durant also hasn't been afforded his first night off of the campaign. It's still way too early in the season, but if this trend continues, there's definitely going to be a cause for concern.
As Harden and Durant continue to soak up the minutes, Kyrie Irving remains at home watching from the comfort of his own living room. The Nets point guard is still in exile from the team amid New York City's mandate on unvaccinated individuals. As Harden implied in his statement above, things would have been much different if Brooklyn had more warm bodies available.
Be that as it may, it doesn't sound like Harden is overly concerned about his minutes adding up:
“I mean we’ll deal with that later. Right now we just hooping,” Harden said.
And hooping they definitely have been. Harden, Durant, and the rest of the Nets have now won eight out of their last 10 games, including Wednesday's victory over the Cavs. They return to action on Friday when they host the Orlando Magic at home.
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