It’s been seven games since James Harden has taken the floor for the Houston Rockets, as the team’s MVP candidate has been on the sidelines dealing with a hamstring injury. The Rockets have gone 4-3 without having the services Harden, and despite his absence, are still in second place in the Western Conference.
In a bit of good news for the Rockets, Harden has gotten to a point where he feels like he’s ready to return to the team. According to a report by Tim MacMahon of ESPN, the current plan is for Harden to go through a practice on Wednesday.
If that goes well, he is expected to make his return on Thursday night for one of the Rockets’ biggest games of the first half of the season, as the team will host the fourth-place Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Houston Rockets plan for star guard James Harden to return from a hamstring strain Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, barring any setbacks during Wednesday’s practice, league sources told ESPN.
It was previously reported that Harden was targeting this game or Houston’s Saturday night showdown with Golden State as one of the two games where the MVP candidate would make his return. But as MacMahon noted, there is a potential monkey wrench that can throw off this entire plan, and it involves the fracas that featured the Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Harden is also awaiting a disciplinary ruling from the NBA office after sources say he was one of four Rockets who entered the Los Angeles Clippers’ locker room through a back door after Monday’s loss to the Clippers,” MacMahon wrote.
