James Harden was back on the floor for the Nets on Tuesday night, but he could be battling his lingering hand injury for a while.
The Nets superstar missed Brooklyn's last game with a hand strain (and missed the game before that with a hamstring injury), and told reporters after making his return on Tuesday just how bad the sprain was.
"I couldn't move my hand, that's why I didn't play the last game, at all," Harden said, after also saying that he expects to play on Wednesday night against the Kings, the second half of a back-to-back. "But if I could move it, I'm playing."
Harden initially suffered the injury weeks ago, but said he worsened it last Friday.
"It happened probably two weeks ago, just getting to the basket and contact and hitting the ground," Harden explained. "So it was already hurting me, but I played through it. I think I lifted weights one day before a game before we left on the road, and I probably just irritated it or whatnot. The next day I woke up and really couldn't move my hand at all.
"It actually woke me up pretty early. I was calling the trainers just to figure out what the hell was going on."
Harden logged 22 points and 10 assists in his first game back, and Brooklyn will certainly need him while Kevin Durant remains sidelined with an MCL injury, and the Nets have lost five in a row. The injury is one Harden will have to continue to manage, but he doesn't see himself needing to miss any more time.
"It's calmed down," Harden said. "I'm back on the court, just gotta keep going."
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