The Houston Rockets had a bit of a scare last night in their preseason battle with the Orlando Magic. James Harden was stripped of the ball by Evan Fournier late in the 2nd quarter, and during the ensuing fast break Fournier got a little out of control and ended up colliding knees with Harden as he went up for the basket.
Harden immediately reacted and hobbled around the baseline for a minute before heading back to the locker room.
Any live-basketball contact to the knee is always concerning. And I'm not totally sure that Fourner doesn't also kick Harden in the head as he launches himself into the air FWIW. But the knee is obviously crucial here.
The reactions and signs shortly thereafter were a bit ambiguous, but there's more good vibes circulating than bad ones.
Don't want to guess severity of injury this quickly but maybe can read into it that Daryl Morey and Rockets brass remained in seats at half.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) October 12, 2015
As soon as I typed that, Morey, Gersson Rosas got up, headed in that direction. Don't want to read into that either, but well, never mind.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) October 12, 2015
Rockets teammates generally have little medical training and did not examine Harden's knee, but FWIW, they did not seem too concerned.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) October 12, 2015
We'll keep you updated on Harden's status as more information comes out in the coming days.