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05/14 15:25 CDT James Harden, still learning new role, helps Cleveland get 1
win away from East finals
James Harden, still learning new role, helps Cleveland get 1 win away from East
finals
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
This may as well have been called The James Harden Experience.
In the span of 22 seconds during overtime of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference
semifinals against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, Harden did all this
for the Cleveland Cavaliers --- made a free throw, missed a free throw, blocked
a shot, got a rebound and threw the ball away.
None of it seemed to faze him, which is quintessential Harden.
"He never wavered," Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. "He has a bad game,
good game, you can't even tell. So, I think his mentality --- he's seen so
much, been through so many of these series --- he's a heck of a leader."
This is why Cleveland made the decision to go get Harden in a trade three
months ago. He was going to make them better, tougher, more playoff-ready. The
numbers, to this point, say they're on to something.
Thanks largely to the bearded man who has been to the playoffs in each of his
17 NBA seasons, they're one win away from the East finals. They could get there
with a win over the Pistons in Game 6 of their series on Friday night, in
Cleveland. It bears noting that Harden's three best games of the series have
been the last three games --- all of them wins by the Cavaliers.
"He's a pro's pro," Cavaliers guard Max Strus said after the Game 5 win, one
where Harden led the Cavaliers with 30 points despite missing seven of his
final eight shots from the field during the fourth quarter and overtime.
"He shows up every single day," Strus said. "He puts (an) amount of work in.
You don't become one of the best players the game has ever seen without showing
up every single day. I think that's one thing that I've noticed from him is the
consistency, whether that's in the weight room, whether that's in taking care
of your body, whether it's in getting shots up. He's a Hall of Famer in that
regard and that's why he is who he is --- because he consistently puts in the
work."
The numbers show how Harden has so much value to the Cavaliers. In these
playoffs, they are:
--- 5-1 when he scores at least 22 points (2-4 otherwise).
--- 4-0 when he shoots at least 44% (3-5 otherwise).
--- 5-0 when he has at least seven field goals (2-5 otherwise).
--- 6-1 when he has at least three 3-pointers (1-4 otherwise).
Has it always been smooth? It has not. Harden still turns the ball over often,
although that's sometimes a misunderstood stat because the guys with the ball
in their hands more than others are simply going to turn it over more than most
people. He's three points away from tying Stephen Curry for 10th on the
all-time playoff scoring list (which is good), and one turnover away from tying
Shaquille O'Neal for the second-most giveaways in the playoffs in this format
that goes back to 1984 (which is not so good).
In fairness, Harden is judged differently than many players. It comes with the
territory --- 17 years in the league, 17 playoff appearances, extremely
well-paid, extremely well-decorated when it comes to awards, and zero NBA
titles. But also, in the interest of fairness, he's finding ways to make things
work with Cleveland despite being put in a role very different than the one
he's been playing for some time.
"This is new for me. I've only been here two and a half months," Harden said.
"So, the things that we are going through is all new."
He's had to be a second option in Cleveland, the Robin to Donovan Mitchell's
Batman. Such adjustments are not easy to make. Harden has been trying to do so
seamlessly ever since the trade happened --- and Cleveland is one win away from
the NBA's final four for the first time since 2018 (and in the non-LeBron James
era, the first time since 1992).
"I think we're building in the right direction," Harden said. "And throughout
that process, there's going to be some times where we don't look as great, but
I think overall we've all got the right mindset of wanting to help each other
be better. And I think we're finding that."
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