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Cleveland Cavaliers are 6-1 on the season since James Harden entered the mix.
In an effort to shake things up before the playoff push begins, the Cleveland Cavaliers shockingly broke up their core by trading Darius Garland for James Harden. While some are against the idea of a contender making a big change mid-season, this one seems to be paying early dividends.
Though he isn’t the historic scorer he once was, Harden is still a star-level talent capable of raising the floor of any team he’s on. The former MVP has provided a strong boost since joining the Cavs, averaging 18.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 8.0 APG. Aside from on-court production, Harden’s presence is positively impacting the team in other ways as well.
On February 24th, the Cavaliers stayed hot by picking up a dominant 109-94 victory over the New York Knicks. This win now moves them to 6-1 on the year in games that Harden has appeared in.
After taking care of business against the Knicks, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson reflected on how things have been since Harden entered the fray. He stated that having the 11-time All-Star around has brought a resurgence of confidence to the team as they gear up for the postseason.
“Bringing James on has given us a renewed confidence, if that makes sense. We understand we’re a better team,” Atkinson said. “That spirit, that confidence for some strange reason, it makes you play harder, compete harder, compete harder defensively. I felt like we were kind of missing that edge, that belief. I feel like we’re regaining that. A lot of it has to do with who we added in the trade.”
James Harden is Confident Cavaliers Can Continue to Improve
Currently sitting at 6-1 post-trade, the Cavaliers are trending in the right direction as the regular season comes to a close. Despite how strong the new-look squad has come out of the gates, Harden thinks that this is just the beginning.
Following his 20-point, four-assist outing in the win over New York, Harden weighed in on how the Cavs have looked since he entered the mix. He feels the sky is the limit with this group as they continue to get more comfortable playing with one another in the coming weeks.
“We got a few more notches to get to,” Harden said postgame, per ESPN. “We got what, 25 games? I think we can get there. Matter of fact, I know we can get there. I think it’s going to start defensively because offensively we can have six guys in double figures … defensive is going to be key.
Cavaliers Climb in Latest Power Rankings Following Recent Hot Stretch
Now that there is a decent sample size of the Cavaliers with the addition of Harden, the league is starting to take notice. Their impressive play as of late has them once again being talked about as a threat in the Eastern Conference.
Amid their stockpiling of wins in recent weeks, the Cavs are knocking on the door of a top seed. Taking down the Knicks on Tuesday now has them tied for third in the standings with a 37-22 record.
On February 24th, the people at ESPN put together the latest installment of their NBA power rankings. Cleveland managed to climb a couple of spots, falling just outside the top five at No. 6. Just ahead of them are their fellow rivals in the East in the Knicks, Boston Celtics, and Detroit Pistons.
Kevin McCormick is a veteran sports writer covering the NBA for Heavy.com. After writing for Heavy briefly in 2022, he’s returned to the publication in 2026. McCormick brings with him over seven years of experience writing about the NBA in a newsroom and served as a credentialed reporter of the Philadelphia 76ers for 97.3 ESPN, ClutchPoints, and On SI. More about Kevin McCormick
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