James Harden's veteran poise is freeing Donovan Mitchell, and the Cleveland Cavaliers have an early 2-0 playoff lead over the Toronto Raptors as a result.
James Harden's positive effect on Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers is showing immediately in the early stages of the NBA playoffs.
James Harden and Donovan Mitchell have been outstanding for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first two games of the NBA playoffs, leading their ball club to a 2-0 series lead over the Toronto Raptors.
Harden's ability to play with poise and patience, combined with Mitchell's forceful drives and shot-making prowess, has proven to be too much for the Raptors to handle early in their matchup.
The production each has provided is exactly what the Cavs' front office envisioned when they made the trade that sent Darius Garland to the Los Angeles Clippers for the star veteran with 17 years of postseason experience.
There's a natural synergy between Harden and Mitchell, and it's not only helped them, as Cleveland's role players have found chemistry quickly with the Beard.
In an episode of Courtside with Cavs, Spencer German and I shared our takeaways on Harden helping Mitchell, and how well both have performed to this point:
You can tell the effect that he has on Donovan Mitchell. Quote-on-quote, Donovan was like, "I can just stand on the wing," while he goes and isos somebody. Just having that option to not rest, but to just make sure you have enough gas to get through to the finish line at the end of the game.
In certain cases, as you get deeper into the playoffs, it's gonna make a difference with how much you have in the tank left. And when you have two guys who are used to being the alpha -- these guys have taken 30-plus shots for their teams in the postseason -- those numbers are gonna be quite as potent because you're gonna be able to share the wealth a little bit and the responsibilities with each other.
The series between the Cavs and Raptors is shifting to Toronto for Game 3 at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. Game 4 will be another afternoon tilt from up north, scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
If necessary, April 29, May 1, and May 3 will be the dates for Games 5-7. Cleveland currently holds a 2-0 lead as it travels north to Canada.
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