Undermanned Nets grind out win vs. Pelicans after James Harden ruled out ‘indefinitely’

Steve Nash called it “back to square one,” which is not an ideal position 80% into a season. James Harden, deservedly regarded as one of the NBA’s most durable superstars, can’t shake that bum hammy, and the Nets threw out the scary word “indefinitely” when projecting his return.

“Who knows when that will be?” Nash said.

Hamstring injuries, of course, are tricky. Too tricky to predict or trust, as Harden’s second setback demonstrated. Logic tells us he’ll be back by the playoffs, which start at the end of May. But as Nash acknowledged, “Who knows?” If he makes it to Game 1, Harden will have missed almost two months and 23 of the final 24 regular-season contests, carrying his history of fluctuating fitness levels.

“We’ll support James and we’ll support our performance team in getting him back in his best condition as possible,” Nash said.

First, the obvious: you can incinerate Harden’s MVP bid. About seven weeks ago Harden declared himself most deserving of the award, and he had a good argument. But Harden tossed away the start of his season to discontent in Houston, and his final third has been sabotaged by injury. He shouldn’t crack the top-10.

Second, we know Harden will push to play as soon — and as much — as possible. It’s how he’s wired. Whether it’s necessary to rush him back is more reliant on his teammates, specifically Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Which brings us to Tuesday night’s 134-129 victory over the Pelicans. The Nets only had nine available players, trotting out the likes of Bruce Brown and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot for big minutes. Durant was inactive because of a contusion, leaving Irving as the lone member of the Big 3 to face “Mt.” Zion Williamson.

And yet, they led New Orleans throughout and closed out a victory on the road. Irving, who led the way with 32 points and eight assists, was spectacular, especially in the final minute when he scored eight points, converted two contested shots following a dribbling exhibition, and stripped Williamson (33 points, seven rebounds, four assists) on the final meaningful possession.

Not bad after Nash acknowledged the long-term value of the game was mostly surviving healthy.

“The No. 1 priority, in some respects, has to be survival,” the coach said. “We have to not overburden the rest of the roster. Everybody is going to have more responsibility theoretically than they have in the past. And sometimes that can be too much exposure physically when you haven’t been used to that type of adaptation. So we got to be careful. But at the same time, we don’t have a lot of options. So how we navigate that is going to be tricky. Just stay positive and demanding that we’re a connected group and play together and keep moving this along and see what we can build out of this adversity. Get some resolve or connectivity or whatever it is to help us down the road.”

So here’s the good news for Brooklyn, as reiterated Tuesday: Harden at Square One is still a decent place for the Nets, and they’re contenders as long as Irving and Durant are both on the court. Their availability is certainly not a given, not after spending the vast majority of their first two Brooklyn seasons on the inactive list.

But now they’re healthier than Harden, who is shelved “indefinitely.” In the meantime, they have a foundation and role players certainly capable of holding it down, doing more than surviving.