In fear of another premature postseason exit, the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired James Harden over the trade deadline. And in just two games since, Harden has looked amazing alongside Donovan Mitchell. The pairing isn’t expected to be perfect right out of the gates, but former NBA champion Paul Pierce can see a trajectory similar to one of the most iconic duos in NBA history.
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The Cavaliers weren’t able to capitalize on a dominant regular season last year, losing in the second round to the Indiana Pacers, despite being the overwhelming favorites. Naturally, post season success has become a priority for them.
Unfortunately, their performance in the season so far has left their fans wanting. In a weakened Eastern Conference, Cleveland has been good, when they could have been great. They currently sit at the fourth seed with a 33-21 record. To put that into perspective, last year, they lost 18 games in total.
Management knew they couldn’t afford another disappointing season so they pulled the trigger to trade Darius Garland to the Los Angeles Clippers for James Harden. This trade has undoubtedly made the Cavaliers a better team but adding a player of Harden’s caliber isn’t as simple as plugging him in and playing.
Harden has notoriously had one of the highest usage rates in the NBA. In that same vein is his new teammate, Donovan Mitchell.
Hall-of-Fame forward Paul Pierce simply can’t ignore that aspect from both of Cleveland’s stars. If they so happen to act like it won’t be an issue, Pierce believes that can create some significant problems.
“Somebody’s got to be more willing than the other because that’s how they’re effective,” Pierce said on Ticket & The Truth. “Who’s going to be more willing to say, ‘Alright, I’m going to need to sacrifice controlling the ball.'”
Mitchell currently ranks 4th in the league in usage rate, while Harden is not too far behind at sixth. Of course, both players were the primary ball handlers on their respective teams before the trade.
But the question on whether the two star guards can play together is easily answered when we trace Harden’s history through his time in different franchises.
Ever since Harden left the Houston Rockets, he has had at least one other All-Star with him. He played with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving with the Brooklyn Nets, Joel Embiid with the Philadelphia 76ers and obviously Kawhi Leonard with the Clippers. In all of those situations, Harden has taken a back seat; it’s safe to assume he’s willing to do that once again with the Cavaliers.
Despite Harden’s track record, Pierce looks at two specific star players as the blueprint. He compares Mitchell and Harden to LeBron James and Dwyane Wade during their first season together on the Miami Heat.
“Wade had to learn to play different with LeBron,” Pierce proclaimed.
Unfortunately, Pierce’s former teammate and co-host, Kevin Garnett, didn’t quite agree with the statement. He argued that it was the other way around.
“I thought it was different. LeBron had to learn how to play with Wade, and then Wade taught him how to be a superstar. Wade taught LeBron way more than people want to give him credit,” Garnett said.
LeBron would be the first person to admit that without Wade as a teammate, he would never have turned into the player he is today. That impact helped lead the Heat to two NBA championships. The Cavaliers have the opportunity of creating something just as special.
Mitchell can certainly learn a lot from Harden, and so can Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. People can say a lot of things about Harden, but he has elevated every team he has been on. The Cavaliers are hoping he continues that trend in Cleveland.
