DETROIT — The centerpiece of the Cavaliers’ roster-altering plans at the trade deadline has yet to make the impact they need in the Eastern Conference semifinals. And it’s one of the key reasons why the Cavs are down 0-2 as the series heads back to Cleveland.
The Cavs lost 107-97 to the Detroit Pistons in Game 2, making Cleveland 0-5 on the road in the playoffs. Game 3 is set for May 9 at Rocket Arena.
The Cavs broke up the “core four” by swapping Darius Garland for James Harden, a blockbuster deal that might have sped up their contention window in an effort to win now. But the production for which they had hoped hasn’t yet followed.
In Game 1 of this series against the Pistons, Harden scored 22 points, but he also shot just 40% from the field and turned the ball over seven times, negating some of that scoring value. In Game 2, he was limited to just 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting from the floor with four turnovers. He ended the night with a minus-15 plus/minus, the worst of any player on the court for either side.
He also scored just two points on three shots in the second half, an indicator the Cavs are still working on a balance of utilizing him.
“Just missing shots. … I think the ball was moving,” Harden said. “We were getting better shots. Just picking and choosing my spots and figuring out what works, what doesn’t work for the betterment of the team.”
Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson took the blame for Harden’s quiet second half.
“On me,” Atkinson said. “He took two shots in the second half. I’ll put that on me. I think the idea in the second half was to push the pace and try to play quicker and get the ball up the court. … We got to look at it, can’t have our Hall of Famer taking [three] shots in the second half. I’ll take that one.”
James Harden stats in NBA playoffs
The Cavs took a chance on Harden, dealing a more controllable, younger player in Garland for his playoff experience — and likely because of Garland’s injury issues that have lingered for more than a year. But so far, Harden hasn’t had the type of seamless impact the Cavs might need to advance to the conference finals.
When the Cavs acquired Harden, president of basketball operations Koby Altman said a major reason for the trade was his playoff experience and ability to have a more professional possession when things get crazy. The Cavs say they aren’t panicking, though it is a work in progress to figure out how to best incorporate Harden into the offensive attack.
“We’re not sitting here worried; he’s going to figure this out,” said Donovan Mitchell, who scored a game-high 31 points in the Game 2 loss. “We got to do a better job around him, as well. Whether it’s spacing or putting him in different positions. And we’ll have that conversation, we’ve been having that conversation and, at the end of the day, we’re going to figure it out.”
With 33 seconds left and the Cavs down by six, Harden dribbled around for a bit, unable to find much space, before losing the ball to Ausar Thompson, one of the best defensive players in the league. It was the dagger play that sank the Cavs’ chances.
“Even like the last possession when he lost the ball, I could have stayed in the corner with Thompson, right?” Mitchell said. “So, just little things like that, just [need to] get on the same page. We’ll be fine. We’ll figure it out.”
Considering the way this series is going, though, they don’t have much time to do it.
Ryan Lewis covers the Cavaliers for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs know they need to get James Harden going in NBA playoffs
Reporting by Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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