Cavaliers' James Harden Shooting Career-Low 36.4% Through 11 Games of New Deal

James Harden is shooting 36.4% from the field, the lowest mark of his career. The Cleveland Cavaliers are 5-6 after losing 124-112 at Charlotte on Monday, when Harden finished with 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting.

Chris Fedor wrote Wednesday for cleveland.com that Cleveland has a Harden problem with no easy fix. The Cavs have scored 108.6 points per 100 possessions in his 359 minutes on the floor. In the 174 minutes without him, that figure is 123.5. That's an early-season split, over 11 games.

Fedor looked at the nearly 130 players who had taken at least 25 shots at the rim. Harden was last in that group. Defenders are treating him as a passer now, Fedor wrote.

Before Monday's loss, Kevin O'Connor discussed Harden's trouble finishing at the basket. Basketball Network published his comments that day.

"James Harden looks old," O'Connor said. "It's just the reality of it now…he's eight of 21 at the rim so far this year. Eight of 21, and only a fifth of his shots are coming at the rim, almost a career low.

"Harden looks a bit, not quite washed, but we're getting close to saying he might actually have fallen off the cliff," O'Connor added.

O'Connor put more of the blame on the roster than on the coaching.

"This Cleveland team just feels flawed to me, with the top four," O'Connor said. "Mitchell and Harden is an imperfect backcourt. Mobley and Allen is an imperfect frontcourt, and then a bench that I don't really think is that good."

Harden is averaging 15.3 points and 5.7 assists, with three turnovers a game, in 32.6 minutes. He has made 35.5% of his 3-pointers. Cavaliers On SI ranked his shooting 93rd among the 94 players who had taken at least 100 shots. His scoring is the lowest it has been since his second season. His assists are at their lowest in 13 years, the outlet reported.

Charlotte had lost six straight before beating Cleveland. The Cavs are seventh in the Eastern Conference.

The first apron is a hard limit on Cleveland's payroll this season, Fedor noted. He sees little room for the front office to change the team around Harden under that restriction.

Harden could have picked up his roughly $42.3 million player option this summer. Instead, he signed for three years and $96.54 million. Cleveland announced the deal Sept. 8. ESPN's Bobby Marks reported that Harden holds a player option for the third year, along with a 15% trade kicker. His starting salary came down, helping Cleveland get below the second apron to bring in Peyton Watson in a sign-and-trade.

Harden is making about $30.6 million this season, Yahoo Sports reported.

The Cavs sent Darius Garland to the Clippers for Harden on Feb. 4. They won 19 of the 26 games he played after the trade. Harden averaged 20.5 points and 7.7 assists for Cleveland, then 19.2 points and 5.5 assists in the playoffs. Cleveland got to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018, but New York swept the series.

His numbers over the full season, including his time with the Clippers, were 23.6 points, eight assists and 4.8 rebounds per game. The team also noted his 88.4% free-throw shooting, the best of his career.

Harden turned 37 in August. He is in his 18th season.

The Cavs host the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 16 and the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 20.