Honestly haven’t decided what I think. All of the following went through my head... 1. Harden is sitting out tonight in silent protest like AD and Kawhi? 2. Harden is actually hurt and everybody agreed it wasn’t worth risking more severe injury? 3. Trade incoming? 4. Harden wants to watch and see what these guys are capable of doing without him?
Early in the season! There is no point in having a deep roster it they can't rest their mvp. Good decision. We have enough fire power for this game. If not rafael stone needs to get to work
Pretty sure 1 is definitely off the table. Feigen reported that Harden came out early to the court, which he literally never does, he's a guy who never breaks his routine. It's likely that he was testing his ankle after injuring it at the end of last game, trying to see if he's comfortable playing on it. It was clearly bothering him. But as others have pointed out, he plays through this stuff all the time. So it's not just a blatantly fake injury report to cover for a silent protest. I think 2 and 3 are likely, and 4 is possible but unlikely.
Meh, hit me with the conspiracy theory when time is ripe, not right now. Too much weight on his ankles.
