NEW YORK – James Harden will start Saturday night in his Brooklyn Nets debut against the Orlando Magic.The three-time NBA scoring champion became available to play earlier in the day after all the players in the blockbuster trade that sent him from Houston to Brooklyn completed their physicals.Nets coach Steve Nash immediately put Harden into the starting lineup.
He said he would determine as the game goes along whether he needed to limit the All-Star guard's minutes, saying the Nets “don’t want to run the batteries down on our new Christmas present this early.” Harden has not practiced with the Nets and Nash said the team would try to keep things simple Saturday, though expected Harden to catch on quickly.