James Harden may not have requested a move to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the move makes sense. Or rather, Harden’s debut against the Sacramento Kings Saturday night proved it was the right one for him as well as the Cavs.
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Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine at the beginning of the game. Harden and Donovon Mitchell visibly lacked chemistry. But all that changed in the fourth quarter.
After their bench brought some semblance of hope by reeling things back to just a two-point game at the end of the third quarter (the Kings leading 96-94), Harden and Mitchell, both of whom looked far too careful not to step on each other’s toes, stepped it up. They added 32 points in the fourth quarter to seal the game.
Harden scored 23 points while Mitchell had 35 in the game, handing the Kings their 12th straight loss. Their chemistry was there for everyone to see toward the end of the game. But then, let us also not forget that this is just their first game together, and whether they will be able to do this consistently remains to be seen.
One thing is obvious, though. Jarrett Allen is about to have a feeding frenzy with Harden as the Cavs’ guard.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson, who had boldly claimed that great players will always find a way to fit together, may not have been visibly smiling ear-to-ear during the post-game press conference. But he looked hopeful for what could be a promising future.
“He’s so smart… Jarrett Allen’s 11-for-12 because James is hitting him in the pocket and finding him on the roll, and that’s how you ingratiate yourself with your teammates and your new team. James’ number one attribute is making others better,” said Atkinson.
Kenny on Harden adapting:
“He’s so smart. … Jarrett Allen’s 11-for-12 because James is hitting him in the pocket and finding him on the roll –and that’s how you ingratiate yourself with your teammates and your new team. James’ number one attribute is making other’s better.” pic.twitter.com/TWfFgQriiG
— RealCavsFans.com (@realcavsfans) February 8, 2026
Even at the twilight of his career, Harden is still amongst the best at feeding his forwards, and that’s precisely what he did last night as well. He quite easily exploited every opportunity to find Jarret Allen in the pick and roll, and even if he wasn’t finding the forward, it made life difficult for the Kings’ defense, courtesy of all the movement it was creating up front.
Allen acknowledged it after the game. “He’s definitely looking for you on every single roll & he’s a threat to shoot the ball, which makes it even harder for guards to guard him in the pick & roll… He’s an amazing offensive player. He’s gonna give me looks I’ve had for a while, but he’s gonna do it on another level,” he said.
