Breaking News: James Harden Out 2-4 Weeks With Hamstring Injury
Well, this was bound to happen. There's no news on how it happened as of yet, but it was speedily tweeted by Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman. (This is why I hate Twitter....it gives you no information.) UPDATE: Jessica Lantz tells me, "it happened on a weird foul toward the end of the first half. He was noticably grimmacing after the play and before he went to the line (with a timeout in between). Walking around, kinda limping, etc. I don't believe he played in the 2nd half & I'm pretty sure that's the play that did it..."
Aside from the loss of Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook, this is one of the worst injuries we could have possibly gotten. James Harden is our only scorer off of the bench, and our swingman lineup is pretty thin.As of right now, the Thunder have 3 Options to fill the void:
1. Throw Antonio Anderson into the fire.
This is a risky option, but probably the one the Thunder will take. Anderson was an on and off scorer for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, and a James Harden injury is precisely the reason the thunder would bring a guy like Anderson in. His recent results have been less than promising, but it's hard to judge a guy on just one garbage-time performance.
2. Play Both Kevin Ollie and Eric Maynor in a dual-PG lineup.
This is the second most likely option. Eric Maynor would have to be converted into a scorer for this to work, and that's the main roadblock this solution faces. It would also leave the lineup a bit undersized at times, leaving our exterior defense vulnerable.
3. Call Up Kyle Weaver from the D-League.
This is probably a fall back plan. The Thunder can only call up a player from the D-League so many times, and they might not be willing to do so in this case. He would have to start after tonight's game against the Nets unless he got to Oklahoma City really fast, and it would leave our guards very offenseless. Weaver can score better than Sefolosha, but that's not saying much. In the end, it would leave our team pretty flawed. I'd only expect to see Weaver out there if the prior two plans go drastically wrong or if Sefolosha, his counterpart, goes down at any time. The offensive/defensive balance must be kept in check.
The situation will have tabs kept on it through tonight's game.
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Weaver was already recalled...
Mayberry actually tweeted that before tweeting that Harden is out..
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by Scott Schroeder on Mar 12, 2010 12:49 PM CST reply actions
Yeah he was
Escorted out of the game with medical staff before coming back to the bench. Wasn’t sure what that was about until the injury was noted later.
Well, that doesn't necessarily mean Weaver will play....
It could just mean he’ll sit on the bench in case Anderson falls flat on his face or Anderson/Sefolosha gets injured.
Still, if he does play, then I’m psyched! I love Weaver, it’s why I wear his jersey to every game. If he does get the playing time, I know he’ll do a good job.
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Ouch
Big time injury. Harden was really hitting his stride lately and now our only real offense off of the bench is gone (well, Ibaka has been picking it up lately). I hope he can get back quickly because we’ll need him in the playoff run.
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