James Harden of the Houston Rockets is expected to miss games early on in the 2018-19 NBA season no thanks to a hamstring strain. With the "bearded one" forced to sit out, it could be an opportunity for Carmelo Anthony to pick up the scoring slack.
The initial word is that Harden will miss just a couple of games although it may take longer. According to the Bleacher Report, it has been a common injury for the Rockets' star the past two seasons. In the 2017-18 NBA season, he was forced to sit out seven games although this hardly affected Houston's campaign.
Reportedly a Grade 1-Plus hamstring strain, the good news is that the injury happened this early in the season. It gives him ample time to rest and return in the crucial stages, assuming the Houston is able to survive without him. With Harden sidelined, the Rockets will need someone to fill up the 28.5 points per game, 6.2 rebounds and about 9 assists average that he has so far accumulated in four games this season.
One person that could step up is no other than Carmelo Anthony. Starting the season coming off the bench, Anthony has had no complaints. In four games, he has so far averaged 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 30.5 minutes of action according to the statistics from ESPN.
He put up those numbers, playing support to Paul and Harden. Now, he may have to recall that old form to buy Harden more time. According to Jonathan Feigen, D'Antoni is still weighing on how to use Melo and on what position he would be playing. Anthony could take the 3 or 4 spots, meaning there will be adjustments made.
Anthony is coming off a big game against the Utah Jazz, dropping 20 points and hauled down seven rebounds. Now, he may need to sustain or improve on those numbers to keep the Rockets afloat. Given the green light to shoot, there is no question that the Rockets can buy Harden enough time to help him completely recover from his injury - regardless whether it is severe or not.
For Houston, it goes way beyond getting someone else to step up. Chris Paul, who is expected to return to action after serving out his suspension, will need to step up a bit as well for D'Antoni. There are also other players such as Gerald Green, P.J. Tucker, Michael Carter-Williams and Eric Gordon tasked to contribute via their usual roles.
Despite Harden out for a couple of games, Houston should be fine in the early going. They do have the manpower, more than enough compared to other NBA teams this season.
