James Harden on Eye Injury: ‘I Can Barely See’

James Harden
James Harden still delivered 29 points in Game 2 despite losing some of his vision after he being poked in the eye by Draymond Green. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle)

In the most anticipated second-round playoff series in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets continued their chippiness in Game 2, leading to a plethora of injuries being sustained Tuesday night.

Most notable was James Harden’s eye injury which he suffered after getting poked by Warriors forward Draymond Green. Harden would leave the game midway through the first quarter and return later in the half with incredibly bloodshot eyes and difficulty seeing under Oracle Arena’s bright lights.

In fact, Harden said his vision was damaged to the extent where he could still “barely see” following the game.

This will obviously be a story to monitor and keep tabs on as the series continues. Though he was able to come in and still contribute 29 points, James Harden was clearly hindered by his injured eye during Game 2. He was forced to take numbing eye drops to ease the pain and was often seen squinting throughout the duration of the second half. In the end, Harden’s Rockets would come up short and now find themselves in a daunting 2-0 series hole to the defending world champs.

For a player as reliant on perimeter scoring and finding open teammates as Harden is, any loss of vision is a devastating blow that could certainly affect Houston’s chances in this series. We saw the injury bug be their downfall during last year’s Conference Finals against Golden State as well when Chris Paul was sidelined with a hamstring injury.

There is some silver lining for the Rockets though, and that is the extended layoff between now and their next showdown against Golden State. The Rockets won’t take on the Warriors for Game 3 until Saturday, giving Harden extra time to rest his damaged eye and help get some of his vision back.

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Lead NBA Writer for Def Pen

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