James Harden possesses an element as the conductor of the Cleveland Cavaliers' offense that the team has lacked in the past. It should pay dividends in the playoffs.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have had James Harden for nine games now since the NBA trade deadline. Observing his tendencies, there are takeaways after the first month of joining the team.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers traded for James Harden, they were looking for a veteran presence and a proven player to take the burden off of Donovan Mitchell. They also acquired somebody who would undoubtedly uplift Jarrett Allen and get Evan Mobley back to his spots, organizing the wine and gold offense in the process.
So far, the Cavs have gotten what they've expected from the 17-year NBA star. Harden's playstyle is collected and poised, exhibiting patience to allow his teammates to read defenses while also doing the same with the ball in his hands. He's able to find his way to the basket with his deliberate nature, go for his own floater when he sees fit, and also utilize his go-to step-back three with the slightest bit of space.
In an episode of Courtside with Cavs, Spencer German and I looked at one of Harden's most important qualities that Cleveland hasn't consistently had in games:
"With James, he slows the momentum down, slows the pace down, doesn't get sped up. A lot of things that have happened in the past with the Cavs is that they do get sped up, so James is able to kinda calm it down a little bit.
"He can say, 'Okay, just because they're on a 8-0 run or whatever it may be doesn't mean that we've got to play at their speed. We can do it at our pace.' And you know when James Harden's playing that you're going to have a half-court pace most of the time. So that's what's nice about what James brings to the table."
The Cavs returned to practice on Friday and have the next two days off to rest and recover before hosting the Boston Celtics in a highly anticipated matinee affair at Rocket Arena.
Cleveland will welcome the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, on the second night of a back-to-back, then hit the road to face the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
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