What impact will James Harden's injury have on the Houston Rockets and the NBA as a whole?
Harden was diagnosed Monday with a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring, suffered during the fourth quarter of Sunday's double-OT win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He's expected to miss at least two weeks, including Thursday's matchup of the top two teams in the Western Conference, the Rockets and the Golden State Warriors in Houston.
While Houston has survived an extended absence from its other star guard, Chris Paul, playing without Harden will be a different challenge. Since coming to Houston in 2012, Harden has never missed more than three consecutive games, and he had missed just two in the previous three seasons. So what are the implications of his injury? Let's take a look.