James Harden Looks For Championship As Cavaliers Compete In Playoffs Against the Raptors

In his 17th season in the NBA, James Harden is on the hunt for a ring. The star guard sees this season as his best opportunity to finally get over the hump.

“It’s the truth. That’s why I’m here,” Harden said.

Harden appeared in the 2012 NBA Finals with the Oklahoma City Thunder, only to lose to LeBron James and the Heat in five games. The guard made two conference finals with the Rockets but lost to the Warriors both times. His latest trips to the playoffs were with the Clippers, which ended in first-round exits.

Harden was paired with Donovan Mitchell on February 4th to boost Cleveland’s chances at a championship. Mitchell is looking for his first career conference finals appearance – Mitchell’s Cavaliers were eliminated in the second round the previous two seasons.

Coach Kenny Atkinson praised Harden’s ability to be a positive influence on the team. “He’s very bold, extroverted in talking with those guys, and it’s a huge help. He knows the things I don’t even see all the time.”

Cleveland is off to a good start this postseason after taking Game 1 from the Raptors. Harden scored 22 points and recorded 10 assists, while Mitchell dropped 32 points and tallied four assists. Max Strus scored 24 points off the bench on 80% shooting; Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley combined for 14 rebounds Saturday night.

There was concern heading into the series regarding the core four’s time together. Despite being together for seven games, they outscored opponents by 26.7 points per 100 possessions. Harden wasn’t concerned as he stated that Mitchell, Allen and Mobley were familiar with each other.

“It probably took me a game or two just to figure out where they like the ball and what to do, what not to do, and so I’m pretty familiar,” Harden said. “In the postseason for the most part, they’re going to guard you one way until game three, maybe game four, and make an adjustment. We’ll figure out what works, figure out how they guard us, and then talk about how we can adjust and counter them.

The Cavaliers will face Toronto on Thursday for Game 3.