The big three in Brooklyn — Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving — have played just seven games together this season.
Saturday you can make that eight.
Nets coach Steve Nash said all three are expected to take the court together on Saturday against Chicago. Via Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News.“Those three will play...
“I just expect them to play hard, play together, and experience some moments together on the floor. It’s been few and far between,” said head coach Steve Nash. “I don’t necessarily have any expectations other than it gives us an opportunity to jell and play together and feel what it’s like to be out there again.”
Harden Tweeted out a picture of the trio from practice.
— James Harden (@JHarden13) May 14, 2021
Harden will still be on a minutes restriction coming off his hamstring injury, and Irving will be monitored having taken an elbow to the face that caused him to miss the last Nets game.
The trio has not been on the court together since Feb. 13, the game where Durant strained his hamstring, and there is a lot of lost time to make up for. In the limited minutes the three were on the court together this season they had a net rating of +13.1 — they crushed teams. What makes the Nets more dangerous in the playoffs is that Nash can stagger lineups so that at least one, and often two, of the trio are always on the court.
The Nets play a back-to-back Saturday and Sunday against the Pacers and Sunday against the Cavaliers. The Nets have a very slim chance to take over the top seed in the East — Philadelphia would have to lose both games of its set with Orlando, while Brooklyn wins out — but the Nets also need wins to hold off Milwaukee, the three seed that is just one game behind them (the Bucks own that tiebreaker).