Traditionally, the point guard has one job: make everyone better.
Few guards have embraced that role more than James Harden. He’s brought his masterful blend of scoring and playmaking to an 18th season, making it easier for all of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ moving parts to fall into place.
“You don’t have to worry about who is out there with [Harden],” said head coach Kenny Atkinson. “He makes the game look so easy… he makes everyone better, that’s the biggest compliment you can give someone.”
The Cavs
look very different than they did a year ago.
In addition to seismic changes at the previous trade deadline, they also added a new member to their starting lineup (Peyton Watson) while pivoting to rely on a handful of unproven role players to fortify their bench. All of this means Atkinson is trying to push the right buttons with different lineup configurations to see what sticks.
“I don’t know if I call it experimenting, but just seeing what stuff looks like,” Atkinson said of his mix-matched rotations during the preseason.
Harden makes that process seamless. Whether it’s building chemistry with new teammates or polishing his relationship with the others. He can do it all.
“He’s one of those players for me; it’s kind of easy to play off him,” said Jaylon Tyson. “Just because [Harden] can make every pass in the book and, obviously, his scoring ability. Everyone is so worried about him offensively that a player like me, catch-and-shoot, just playing off the cut, it makes it so much easier when he’s on the court.”
Having a generational talent, even at 37 years old, is something that unlocks new possibilities for an offense.
Harden, paired with Donovan Mitchell, gives the Cavs two crowned jewels to play off of. Their creativity breeds innovation within an offense that can be hard for defenses to contain.
“Unpredictable,” answered Peyton Watson on how Cleveland’s offense differs from Denver. “In this offense, it’s all about instincts and knowing how to play the game around two elite offensive players — whereas with [Nikola Jokic], I knew every time down he was gonna have the ball… and the play would be for me to do this or that… here, there are more possibilities and things that I can do.”
Finding where you fit is easier when you have a leader like Harden. That’s one aspect of his game that his teammates say goes unnoticed.
“When you’re his teammate, it brings it to a whole new level,” said Donovan Mitchell. “Seeing his influence on the group, seeing his passion and intention behind what he does, it really puts into perspective how BS a lot of the narratives [about Harden] are.”
