NBA playoffs: What’s at stake for James Harden, Donovan Mitchell

Donovan Mitchell knows what’s at stake?

At the start of this Cavs 2026 playoff run, one of the most important in the post-Lebron James-era teams in Cleveland, Mitchell talked about the importance of having superstars. “It’s lonely at the top and very few players really understand how much of a toll it takes,” he told ESPN. He has been doing this for a long time.

That’s why, he said, he’s so grateful to have his new backcourt partner, james hardenand that’s why Cavaliers acquire 11-time All-Star –Helping Mitchell carry the heavy burden of being the team’s No. 1 option.

“I appreciate it when you have a guy like that,” Mitchell told ESPN. “She’s right here. She’s right where I’m at and trying to get there. I feel like we can just talk to each other whenever, through the good, the bad and the indifferent.”

The Cavaliers made, perhaps, the boldest move of any team this season when they traded away the 26-year-old former All-Star point guard. darius garland For the 36-year-old Harden. It combined 29-year-old Mitchell with a kindred spirit and a tortured basketball soul.

Harden and Mitchell have made the postseason in each year of their NBA careers, 17 seasons for Harden and nine seasons for Mitchell.

Still, no one has won a championship. Mitchell has never made it to the conference finals. It’s this shared void that the Cavs hope will lead their team to a deep playoff run.

From their first game together after the trade in February, Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson says he saw a natural chemistry between the two that clicked immediately.

“This league is about a lot When? You get a player early in his career,” Atkinson said last week. “I think we got James at the right time.”

Concluding Harden’s evolution from young bench scorer with the Thunder to volume scorer and perennial MVP candidate Houston RocketsNow in a more traditional point guard role, fits perfectly with the Cavaliers’ need. He is comfortable in his role as a table setter and looks to provide his experienced leadership and knowledge to a Cavs team that has not made it out of the second round since 2018.

That effort is multidimensional. he is Too Trying to rewrite his narrative about his playoff shortcomings and trying to solidify his cadence while doing so. “I know we’re behind,” Harden said. “What speeds up that process is communication and interaction, helping each other.

“We have, I don’t even know how many games together. So during games, on practice days, on the plane, whatever, our communication is very, very important. It can get us out of trouble.”

he cavs need seven games To overtake the 5th seed Toronto Raptors The first round only heightened those narratives, adding to the pressure on a franchise beset by a pair of palpable tensions.

After an impressive start to the Toronto series, neither Harden nor Mitchell played up to their lofty standards. Mitchell started the playoffs with back-to-back 30-point games, but has been held under 25 points in six straight games, averaging 20.5 points, shooting 30% from 3 and reaching the free throw line only 1.7 times per game.

Meanwhile, Harden has turned the ball over more times than he has made field goals in three of his last six games. He has recorded such games 29 times in his playoff career – fifth-most in NBA history.

If this season has to end with more than a third consecutive second-round loss – Cleveland. already trails top seeded detroit pistons Entering Thursday night’s Game 2 at 1-0 – the Cavs will definitely need more from their star duo. How the Cavs finish this playoff run will have a significant impact on the duo’s reputation, and perhaps just as importantly, will define the future of the most expensive roster in basketball.

“I’ve been here before, the pressure isn’t really there — I don’t really feel it,” Mitchell told ESPN. “It’s not pressure. Getting your next meal is pressure. Where will I be? You know, it’s pressure. It’s an opportunity. It’s fun.”

“At least I know we did our best regardless of the outcome. … Over the years, some things didn’t go my way. Now I say: We’ve taken the steps. We’ve talked the talk. Now, just keep walking.”

game

Donovan Mitchell on not getting a wrong call: ‘I don’t flop’

Donovan Mitchell admits some frustration at not drawing more fouls and wonders if it’s because he hasn’t flopped.

Their search continues At the most familiar place: Down 1-0 in playoff series.

Two days after the Game 7 win against the Raptors, Harden added another disjointed performance to his playoff resume.

They made 2 of 8 shots and turned the ball over five times in the first three quarters. He has described his turnovers this postseason as self-inflicted and vowed to clean them up, yet his 43 turnovers in eight games during this playoff round are the second-most in the league. (Detroit’s Cade Cunningham There are 48 turnovers through eight games.)

Harden responded in the fourth quarter. His vintage performance, going 4-of-7 from the field with 13 points, was the first time he has scored double figures in the fourth quarter since the 2024 first-round pick. LA Clippers.

The Cavs tied the score with 5:28 remaining, but the Pistons responded with seven consecutive points. They were the team that played the game long enough to seal it, while Cleveland still hasn’t found a way to unlock Harden and Mitchell, who were 2 of 6 in the fourth with six points at the same time this postseason.

“It’s just a matter of being fast,” Mitchell said after Tuesday’s game. “There were some misses from the last series, but we’ll clean that up and move on.”

Harden echoed his backcourt partner’s words.

“For me, I have to get better,” Harden said. “I’m going to be better, not turn the basketball over.”

Since leaving Houston, Harden has transitioned into a more traditional point guard role in recent years – a conscious effort, he said, to extend the longevity of his career.

“I’m not the focal point of the offense anymore, it’s a tough transition,” Harden said, “but I’ve adjusted very well. Guys who adjust very well, especially as they get older, the better you’re going to be.

“I don’t get a lot of credit for it. It’s just fitting in and figuring out how to be the best James Harden, but still trying to get what the coach or the system is trying to do.”

As he has adapted, Harden has often focused first and foremost on creating offense for Cleveland’s frontcourt, evan mobley And jarrett allen.

“It takes humility about yourself,” Mitchell told ESPN. “You go from scoring 60, 50, 50-point triple-doubles to now, it’s not necessary to do that, but understanding that, I’m going for Don, but I’m also here to help JA. I’m here to help Evan.

“There was nothing about him in what he said.”

So far in these playoffs, Harden and Mitchell haven’t put up the flashy statistics they’re known for, but neither of them have said they expect to.

Mitchell also jokingly said that he had seen He Before the movie, the one where he scores a lot of points. He knows how it will end.

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Cavs-Pistons Game 1 turnover differential

Zach Cram discusses how important the Cavaliers’ turnovers were in the Pistons’ 111-101 win in Game 1.

Michelle stepped back Court turned around and delivered his first pump and shout of his own as the sold-out Cleveland crowd roared at him.

it was first quarter of game 2 In the Cavaliers’ first-round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors, Mitchell knocked down a step-back 3-pointer, giving the Cavs a 15–7 advantage and forcing the Raptors to take a timeout to counter Cleveland’s early attack.

As Mitchell took a moment to bask in the playoff atmosphere, his newest co-stars trailed behind him, one veteran trying to impart a glimmer of wisdom to the other.

While Mitchell jab-stepped and dribbled in front scotty barnes And RJ BarrettHarden told Mitchell, Harden had slid toward the baseline, directly to Mitchell’s left.

He was open in the corner, but Mitchell let his 24-foot jumper fly.

“I was very angry,” Mitchell said. “And he took that time like, ‘Hey, yeah, we scored. We accomplished the goal. We still got a bucket out of it, but there was a way to get an easier bucket.’

“That special moment was a good snapshot of our chemistry.”

And it was a window into the mindset of the Cavs’ star duo, knowing how important this postseason is beyond advancing to the conference finals.

Leading up to Game 7 last Sunday, where all the pressure was on the Cavs’ shoulders, Atkinson was surprised by how calm his two superstars were at the moment.

“I can’t really tell if it’s the regular season or the playoffs,” Atkinson said. “They’re working as usual. Same routine. Positive. They’re trying to help wherever they can.”

Michelle explained why. He said, “This is the work you have done.” “Kenny was stressing that throughout the playoffs. It’s like, ‘This is why we work hard. This is why we worked out, did the extra sprints. These are all the things we did.’

“I said after last season: take a step forward. That’s why you do those things – so you don’t stumble.”