CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers took a gamble when they broke up the “core four” at the trade deadline, swapping Darius Garland for future Hall of Famer James Harden and creating a new backcourt tandem with Harden and Donovan Mitchell.
It was 100 percent geared toward improving their chances at a playoff run in an effort to win now. And through Game 1 of that potential path, the Cavs couldn’t have written a better script for that duo.
The Cavs took down the Toronto Raptors 126-113 in Game 1 of their first-round NBA playoff series. After a back-and-forth start, the Cavs took control near halftime and surged forward in the second half, at one point leading by 24 before reaching cruising altitude and coming in for a 13-point win.
Mitchell made four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 32 points to go with three rebounds, four assists and two steals. Harden finished with a double-double, scoring 22 points and dishing out 10 assists.
The Cavs entered the series wanting to set the tone in Game 1. Along with the help of Max Strus, who was terrific off the bench, the backcourt duo of Mitchell and Harden delivered on that goal, exactly as the front office envisioned when they decided to push the button on the blockbuster trade in February.
“Yeah, I’m gonna do a cliche: it’s a set-the-tone thing,” said Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson. “It really matters, right? … Obviously they came in confident and a physical and talented team, but I thought right off the bat, we set the tone.”
Donovan Mitchell stats in playoffs
Mitchell extended his NBA record streak with his ninth consecutive 30-point playoff Game 1 dating back to 2020. Michael Jordan is second on that list with two different streaks of seven Game 1s with at least 30 points, and he isn’t second on too many lists like that. A recurring narrative with Mitchell is he has yet to make it to the conference finals in eight trips to the playoffs, but he’s also been the league’s best playoff scorer in Game 1s in history.
“It’s his job. That’s what he gets paid the big bucks for,” Harden said of Mitchell leading the way as a scorer, with a shrug. “Our job is to just go out there and fulfill the roles and do other things to impact the game. You know, if he’s got it going, it’s going to be 40, 50.”
Mitchell hit four 3s but did most of his work in the paint, consistently driving to the rim. To the same degree, that isn’t sustainable for an entire regular season, but as the playoffs draw near and then arrive, one can almost set their calendars to Mitchell shifting to more of a downhill attack.
“I love how downhill he was,” Atkinson said. “I said before the game, like how we’ve changed our mindset where we become more rim-oriented, more paint-oriented. Don, he can try do do those pirouette 3s, but I think he was locked in on getting to the rim and made some really good decisions, kicking it to our shooters.”
James Harden Stats
The Cavs have stated since the trade deadline how impressed they’ve been with Harden’s passing ability. He had a few highlight-reel-type passes in Game 1, including a perfectly placed alley-oop to Evan Mobley. Even more than the scoring ability, the Cavs knew they’d lean on his ability as a playmaker and his veteran poise as the playoffs progress.
In a way, that element affords Mitchell even more freedom. The Cavs have a long way to go, and a series can be flipped on its head with one game, but the backcourt tandem had a near-perfect trial run in a playoff setting.
“It’s one of those situations where you got to kind of pick, right? Do you trap James? Do you trap me? Do you switch?” Mitchell said. “There’s so many different things. … And his gravity level is well deserved because he finds different ways to impact the game outside of just scoring. So, it makes my life a lot easier.”
Ryan Lewis covers the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Donovan Mitchell, James Harden tandem provides Cavs with perfect script
Reporting by Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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