James Harden’s struggles have continued, with turnovers piling up in the Cavaliers’ Game 2 loss against the Pistons.
In the aftermath of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ frustrating Game 1 loss to the Detroit Pistons, All-Star guard James Harden made an admission and a pledge: “I’ve got to be better and I will be better, not turning the basketball over.”
Game 2 was not an encouraging development in that regard.
The Cavaliers lost 107-97 on Thursday to put themselves in a 2-0 hole as the series goes to Cleveland. No player faced more blame than the 36-year-old Harden, whose postseason struggles have become a defining element of his career across multiple playoff teams.
Harden’s Poor Performance in Game 2
Harden finished the game with 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting (0-of-4 from 3-point range) with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 turnovers. One of those turnovers essentially put the game away for Detroit.
The box score has not been kind to Harden in two games this series. He has more total turnovers (11) than either field goals (nine) or assists (10). He is shooting 32.1% from the field and 9.1% from deep.
He’s been worse on defense than offense. One observer described that effort as “hilariously bad” in the first half. His response to some contact from Ausar Thompson didn’t leave many viewers impressed either.
Context of the Cavaliers’ Acquisition
Any player can be forgiven for a couple of bad games, but most basketball fans know this is well within historical norms for a player who has been a generational offensive talent … during the regular season.
The Cavaliers knew about all of this when they acquired him in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers in February, sending Darius Garland and a second-round pick to the West Coast with the hope they could get a consistent offensive creator alongside Donovan Mitchell. They didn’t need him to be an MVP-level talent again, just a player who could raise their floor offensively.
Harden’s Playoff History
You could argue some of the criticism is overblown. Harden hasn’t reached an NBA Finals since his Oklahoma City Thunder days, but his Houston Rockets had a 3-2 lead on the Golden State Warriors in 2018 when Chris Paul got hurt in Game 5. He has certainly had good games, including some wins in the Cavaliers’ first-round series against the Toronto Raptors.
And yet, there might not be a single player in the NBA whose legacy would benefit more from a strong playoff run. That is not what’s been happening for Harden so far, and now his team needs a significant comeback just to reach the Eastern Conference finals.