Let’s cut straight to the chase: you really don’t know what version of James Harden you’re going to get from one night to the next. Everyone has off days, but his patterned behavior of not showing up in the playoffs makes it tough to overlook some of his underwhelming performances during the regular season.
Obviously, the Cavs were hoping to pair Donovan Mitchell with someone who can both score and offer playmaking abilities. The problem is, this duo hasn’t really shone together in the ways that you would hope. Does that mean they won’t mesh at all? Of course not, but the stats suggest the Cavs may need to explore alternative lineup options.
The numbers tell an interesting story. According to DataBallr’s 2025-26 lineup comparison, Cleveland posted a plus-9.0 net rating with Mitchell playing without Harden, compared to plus-4.0 when the two shared the floor. With Harden running things without Mitchell, that figure fell to plus-3.2.
On the flip side, Cleveland actually posted its highest offensive rating, 126.4, when Mitchell and Harden played together. The problem was on the other end, where opponents scored 122.4 points per 100 possessions. And Harden wasn’t exactly steering a sinking ship when Mitchell rested. His lineups still outscored opponents by 3.2 points per 100 possessions. But compared with Mitchell-only lineups, Cleveland’s advantage dropped by 5.8 points.
For a team hoping to win an NBA championship, that’s a difference Kenny Atkinson can’t simply ignore. Cleveland acquired Harden to make life easier for Mitchell, and getting more out of those minutes without its leading scorer should be high on the coach’s to-do list.
The Cavaliers need more from their James Harden-led lineups
For context, net rating measures how many more points a team scores than it allows per 100 possessions. So these figures don’t establish that Cleveland’s offense was better without Harden. But they do suggest the Cavaliers enjoyed a much bigger overall advantage when Mitchell was the lone star guard.
And let’s give Harden some credit. Cleveland still outscored opponents during his solo minutes. Nobody’s suggesting he suddenly forgot how to play basketball. The issue is that the gap between the Mitchell-only and Harden-only groups was 5.8 points per 100 possessions.
That’s worth investigating, even with the relatively small sample following Harden’s midseason arrival. Different teammates, opponents and defensive performances can all influence those numbers. Even so, Cleveland didn’t bring Harden aboard to win the non-Mitchell minutes by the narrowest possible margin. The Cavaliers wanted to make those stretches a strength.
Kenny Atkinson has an opportunity to unlock Cleveland’s offense
Harden has spent much of his career making life miserable for defenders in the pick-and-roll. Give him a capable screener, a couple of shooters and some room to operate, and he can manufacture good looks without needing to score 30 points himself.
Jarrett Allen should be an obvious beneficiary. His ability to dive toward the rim gives Harden a reliable lob target and forces defenders to choose between protecting the basket and stopping the ball.
Evan Mobley offers another intriguing option. He can screen, attack mismatches and facilitate from the frontcourt. Getting him involved as more than a finisher could give Harden-led groups another way to punish defenses that load up on the ball.
Then there’s Sam Merrill, whose shooting can stretch the floor, and Jaylon Tyson, who offers another scoring threat on the wing. Surrounding Harden with players who move without the ball and capitalize on his passing could make those minutes considerably more productive.
And with Cleveland’s rotation potentially looking very different, Atkinson has an opportunity to experiment with which supporting players complement Harden best when Mitchell heads to the bench. He has to find the right combinations and resist treating every Harden possession like an invitation to watch an isolation clinic.
Cleveland needs two stars who can win their own minutes
The Cavaliers have already demonstrated they can thrive with Mitchell running the show. And having Harden alongside him gives Cleveland another accomplished creator when both are available.
But championship contenders don’t politely wait for their opponents’ best players to return from the bench. They’ll attack those minutes, looking to erase leads or build their own.
That’s why the Harden-only numbers deserve attention rather than alarm. Cleveland has another season to make the pairing work, and Atkinson has the personnel to try something different. The Cavaliers have already shown they can succeed with Mitchell running the show. Now they need to prove they can be just as dangerous when Harden takes the controls.
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