You can\u2019t fake chemistry.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an intangible thing that\u2019s so vital to playing winning basketball, you almost wonder why it isn\u2019t mentioned more often. You can\u2019t win a championship without rapport and trust. For the Cleveland Cavaliers, fast-tracking the process of building that connection between Donovan Mitchell and James Harden was their biggest challenge entering the playoffs.<\/p>\n
So far, so good. The Cavs\u2019 backcourt has combined for a whopping 112 points through their first two games of the playoffs. Their seemingly innate chemistry has helped Cleveland jump out to a 2-0 series lead over the Toronto Raptors. But manifesting a genuine connection between two players that\u2019s strong enough to withstand the intensity of playoff basketball is easier said than done.<\/p>\n
That type of chemistry can take years to form \u2014 and this backcourt doesn\u2019t have time to spare. Harden is in the final chapter of his career, while Mitchell is in his prime. They have to learn on the fly while their championship window is still open.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know we are behind,\u201d said Harden. \u201cSo I think what speeds that process up is communication and helping each other out\u2026 I don\u2019t even know how many games we\u2019ve played together, so our communication during games, on practice days, is very important because that can get us over the hump.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harden joined the team in early February. Roughly two months before the postseason began. That left little time for integration. Maximizing every opportunity to learn something from each other is the only way they can pull this together.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of times in timeouts, we\u2019ll spend two-thirds of the timeout us communicating amongst each other,\u201d said Mitchell. \u201cJust trying to make these adjustments and pick apart what we see.\u201d<\/p>\n
We saw a great example of this during Game 2 versus Toronto.<\/p>\n
Mitchell had just put on a one-man show, dancing in isolation before drilling a difficult three-pointer. It was a beautiful shot, but not the highest quality attempt this offense can generate. As such, Harden went out of his way to tell Mitchell what he saw on that play \u2014 and where they can find something more sustainable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always communicate what we see,\u201d said Mitchell. \u201cEven though I scored on that possession, to his point, there was an easier read that I didn\u2019t see, but he saw.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Donovan Mitchell\u2026 what he\u2019s doing is spectacular,\u201d said Harden about Spida\u2019s shot-making. \u201cBut we can\u2019t put ourselves in those positions; that\u2019s the first step.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not easy to tell an All-Star player that the shot he just made wasn\u2019t in the team\u2019s best interest. You can only do that if you\u2019ve built a sense of mutual respect and trust amongst each other. Cleveland\u2019s backcourt has done the work to accomplish this in less than half a season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re in constant conversations about what\u2019s going on out there,\u201d said Kenny Atkinson. \u201cIn the huddle, they are de facto leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
This communication extends to the defensive end, where being on the same page is significantly more important. While Harden isn\u2019t known for his defense, he has nonetheless established himself as one of Cleveland\u2019s most vocal defenders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing with him is, he\u2019s obviously an all-world offensive talent, but the one thing that jumps out at you is his communication about defense,\u201d said Mitchell. \u201cI\u2019m over here in huddles talking about \u2018hey, we need to do this offensively,\u2019 and he\u2019s like, \u2018man, we just need three stops in a row.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Harden, who had 5 steals in Game 2, once again showed us an example of why being vocal is important. It was his adjustment mid-play that helped Mitchell come up with a steal in the fourth quarter. That type of leadership is why the Cavs wanted him on the roster.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s part of the reason we traded for him,\u201d said Atkinson. \u201cTeams aren\u2019t really picking on him because he\u2019s smart, he\u2019s big, and he\u2019s savvy\u2026 the IQ, the hands, he\u2019ll get beat, but then he\u2019ll strip a guy from behind\u2026 he\u2019s got a lot of nuance to his defensive game.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a broader point to be made of this duo.<\/p>\n
Both Mitchell and Harden have suffered similar shortcomings in the playoffs. They\u2019ve fallen victim to the same narratives. Two dynamic shot creators who can\u2019t get over the hump. High usage stars who will burn themselves out before going the distance. I\u2019m sure you\u2019re all familiar with the criticisms surrounding both players.<\/p>\n
But they no longer have to do it all on their own. Working together as a duo might be what it takes to finally get that chip off their shoulders.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Harden balances it,\u201d said Atkinson. \u201cI still get a little crazy with Don, like \u2018Don pass the ball\u2019 and then he goes and makes an incredible shot \u2014 it\u2019s just finding that Michael Jordan maturity and balance. Just knowing when to [score], but I do think James being beside him helps a lot. It balances it out a little because Don realizes he doesn\u2019t have to do it all himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cavs fans have seen Mitchell play the hero. It can be amazing to watch him leave it all on the floor \u2014 like when he scored 48 points to elevate an injury-riddled Cavalier team against the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of last year\u2019s playoffs. But those points came at a high cost to his body. All of the bruises he earned while attacking the basket took a toll. And by the end of the game, his exhaustion contributed to Cleveland blowing their lead in the closing minutes.<\/p>\n
Now, Mitchell has a sidekick. If a defense is making it too costly for Mitchell to score, he can lean on Harden to take the pressure off him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a couple of times where Don\u2019s in isolation, and they start crashing, and so he just throws it to James,\u201d said Atkinson.<\/p>\n
The effect goes both ways. Mitchell can suck in multiple defenders and dish it to Harden. Or Harden can warp the floor with his own playmaking to open gaps for Mitchell to attack. The two guards work in tandem to pose an impossible challenge for even a top-ranked defense like Toronto.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a guy who can create for himself and others, it just makes it tough,\u201d said Mitchell. \u201cYou have to figure out how to guard it. If he runs the pick-and-roll with Ev, do you help off me? Do you stay? There\u2019s a trust level between the two of us and among the group.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trust is key. Mitchell has scored 30+ points in each game to open his series versus the Raptors. Neither effort took more than 25 field goal attempts \u2014 a mark he reached in four of five games against the Pacers last season. Harden, meanwhile, has totalled 50 points on just 32 field goal attempts across his first two playoff games with the Cavaliers.<\/p>\n
Maintaining that balance will be the difference between a deep playoff run and another early exit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re selfless with each other because they\u2019re on the same page and they want to get to that next level, that next step,\u201d said Atkinson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You can\u2019t fake chemistry. It\u2019s an intangible thing that\u2019s so vital to playing winning basketball, you almost wonder…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":715072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3772],"tags":[7,306,1236,305,193,3846,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-715397","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-cavaliers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cavaliers","10":"tag-cavs-analysis","11":"tag-cleveland","12":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","13":"tag-clevelandcavaliers","14":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116444607610720396","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/715072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}