Kenny Atkinson Explains Why Cavaliers Paired James Harden With Evan Mobley

The Cleveland Cavaliers have flipped their guard-big pairings this preseason, with Donovan Mitchell working more with Jarrett Allen and James Harden working more with Evan Mobley.

Mitchell and coach Kenny Atkinson both discussed the change after practice Friday at Cleveland Clinic Courts in Independence, Ohio.

Mitchell and Allen go back to Mitchell's arrival. Cleveland acquired Mitchell from the Utah Jazz in September 2022. Allen had come to Cleveland in January 2021 in the four-team trade that sent Harden from Houston to Brooklyn.

Mitchell said Allen challenges him to keep hitting the pocket pass.

"For me, that's easy. That's how we started," Mitchell said. "Jay and I were pairing for the first three years, maybe, the first two years. So him and I, it's normal. I think it allows for James and Ev to grow a connection. Obviously, Ev and I started pairing up when Kenny first got here, and it went really well. But I think Ev and James could really have a really strong connection."

"I think Jay and I had a really good connection in our two-man game as well. We were one of the best pick-and-roll [duos]," Mitchell continued. "Kenny, Evan, James, myself, Jay, we all kind of said, all right, let's work on it. And I think it's really going to be beneficial for everybody."

Allen averaged 15.4 points and 8.5 rebounds and shot 63.8% from the field in 56 games last season.

Harden arrived Feb. 4 in the trade that sent Darius Garland and a 2026 second-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers. Garland had averaged 18.0 points and 6.9 assists in 26 games for Cleveland.

Harden averaged 20.5 points and 7.7 assists in 26 regular-season games with Cleveland and 19.2 points and 5.5 assists in 18 playoff games. In August, he re-signed on a three-year, $97 million contract with a player option for 2028-29.

Harden is a better lob thrower than Mitchell, who calls himself more of a pocket passer.

"I think James is one of, if not the best, pick-and-roll handlers," Mitchell explained. "And I think for Evan to be able to play with Darius, myself, and now James, to be able to have three different types of pick-and-roll handlers playing with him, I think being able to grab different things from it, also being put in positions to get easy buckets. James is a better lob thrower than I am, right? I'm more of a pocket guy, right? So I think Ev will be able to see a different dynamic than what he's seen with myself."

Mobley averaged 18.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.6 assists last season.

Cleveland finished fourth in the Eastern Conference at 52-30 and reached the conference finals for the first time since 2018.

Mobley has been building his chemistry with Harden since media day, and Allen said at the same session that Cleveland still had not unlocked everything with Harden.

Harden sat out the preseason opener, a 124-113 loss to the Boston Celtics on Oct. 8.

In his debut Oct. 11, he scored 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, in 26 minutes of a 119-105 win over the Orlando Magic. Mobley and Allen had 7 rebounds apiece.

That game was the first with Cleveland's projected starting five together: Harden, Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Mobley, and Allen.

The Cavaliers closed the preseason with a 132-116 loss at Orlando on Oct. 13.

Atkinson has seen Harden and Mobley talking more, on the court and off it.

"Good. I haven't looked at the numbers, which is something I thought about yesterday on our day off, so I do have to check the preseason, whatever, but I want to just get an idea," Atkinson said. "But I think we'll see where we go with it, but I do feel like Donovan's good with it. Obviously, I don't think he has that much of a preference. But what I've liked about it is, I feel like James and Evan have kind of bonded over this a little bit."

"I see them talking more, talking more on the court, talking more off the court," Atkinson continued. "And I think that raises our ceiling. Like I said, I think Donovan's comfortable playing with either. Getting James and Evan to really, really bond and connect and be on the same page, I think that's kind of in the forefront of my mind with those pairings right now."

Atkinson calls Harden a master at teaching the pick-and-roll, and he has said he plans to use Mobley like Kevin Garnett this season.

"Just playing the pocket," Atkinson explained. "I mean, Evan's already good in the pocket, but screening angles and flipping screens, all the nuances of the pick-and-roll. James is a master at teaching it, manipulating it, so the more they're together, I feel like the better they're going to be. So just, again, kind of using James as a knowledge base to influence Evan's productivity. And Evan's smart too, right? They go back and forth. It's not a one-way street."

Cleveland opens the regular season Thursday, Oct. 22, against the Philadelphia 76ers at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.