CLEVELAND (AP) — James Harden isn’t worried that the Cleveland Cavaliers have dropped the first two games of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Detroit Pistons.
The results suggest Harden and his teammates should be alarmed going into Game 3 on Saturday in Cleveland.
“It’s 2-0. They do what they did at home, so we get an opportunity to go home and do what we’re supposed to do,” Harden said after the Cavaliers’ 107-97 loss on Thursday night.
In each of the games against the Pistons, the Cavaliers struggled with slow starts in the first quarter, only to rally and then collapse down the stretch. And those performances have increased scrutiny on Harden, who was acquired at the trade deadline to help Cleveland get beyond the second round for the first time since 2018.
If the Cavs fall short of that goal, one reason will be Harden's propensity for turnovers.
The 17-year veteran and 2018 NBA MVP has more turnovers than field goals in four of Cleveland’s nine playoff games, including the first two against Detroit.
Harden has never had more than four such games in any postseason. He also had four during Brooklyn’s 11-game playoff run in 2023.
His 47 turnovers are tied for third-most through nine games in the NBA playoffs since individual turnovers were first tracked in 1983. Detroit’s Cade Cunningham holds the mark with 50 this season, but he is averaging a league-high 30.6 points per game in the playoffs.
“You look within first. Look at my turnovers, and a lot of them are just on me. If you get a shot on glass, even half of that, and it’s a different ball game. For me, I got to be better. I will be better (not) turning the basketball over and getting shots up. It gives our defense a chance to get back and be set,” said Harden, who is averaging 3.5 turnovers in 182 postseason games, third-most among guards.
Harden is struggling in other areas. He is 3 of 20 on 3-pointers in the last four games after going 16 of 39 in the first five games of the Toronto series. On Thursday night, he was 3 of 13 from the field and missed all four shots from beyond the arc.
Harden, averaging 19.6 points in the postseason, took only two shots in the second half. That did not bother him, but it did not please coach Kenny Atkinson.
“The ball was moving. We’re getting better shots. Just picking and choosing my spots and figuring out what works and what doesn’t work for the betterment of the team,” Harden said. “We haven’t really given each other space to operate, so that’s been key. That’s the most important thing. They are a good defensive team, but if our spacing isn’t right, they’re an even better defensive team.”
Harden’s defense has also been a liability. Detroit was 9 of 14 on shots when he was the main defender, including 3 of 5 on 3-pointers.
“He’s James Harden. We’re not sitting here worried; he’s going to figure this out, and we have to do a better job around him as well,” All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell said. “Whether it’s spacing or putting him in different positions. And we’ll have that conversation. We’ve been having that conversation, and at the end of the day, we’re going to figure it out.”
The Cavaliers have trailed by double digits in seven of their last eight playoff games. Cleveland was down 18 in the second quarter during Game 1 on Tuesday and 14 before halftime on Thursday night.
“I think the biggest thing starts with our self-inflicted turnovers. We won the possession game, but just the way we started hasn’t been great,” Mitchell said. “We have to figure it out. I think the turnovers are the little things, little details on a lot of the stuff is self-inflicted. But get home, we’ll clean that up and go from there.”
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