.jpg)
1 hour ago
3
Heliocentrism and James Harden are two things that are usually synonyms. Throughout his time with the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets, it was apparent that it was his ball and offense to run. This NBA Playoffs run with the Cleveland Cavaliers is different. Coach Kenny Atkinson saw him adapt to Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Max Strus among others. In fact, the Cavs head coach posits that there has been a lot of growth for their veteran star.
Cavs' Atkinson notices big change in Harden after stints with Rockets and Nets
Coach Kenny Atkinson is a big believer that ball movement is crucial if the goal is to be atop the NBA Playoffs. This is very apparent in the Cavs' current run where he saw James Harden share backcourt duties with Donovan Mitchell. Yes, he still remains to be a high-volume scorer but very little of those field goal attempts now come from isolation plays. The Cavs head coach noted how this was a large improvement from his days with the Rockets and Nets, via Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
"With him, you’d never know if you’re up 20, down 20. Just calm all the time. He adds a maturity and a poise, a calmness to our group, which we needed," Coach Atkinson said.
This collected nature of the Cavs veteran superstar is very noticeable in their NBA Playoffs series against the Pistons. Gone are the days where he would keep the ball to himself despite having multiple men open. A testament to this was, while Harden notched a team-high 30 points, four other Cavs players got 16 points or more in their Game 5 win over the Pistons.
Coach Atkinson also saw Harden share ballhandling duties well with Mitchell and Mobley. Harden dropped six assists, Mobley notched eight assists, and Mitchell got three assists of his own. Growth has been a big reason as to why Harden is such an effective leader whether it's on the Cavs, Nets, and Rockets.
English (US)