Harden turns playmaker in Cavaliers' home debut as Cleveland routs the Wizards

James Harden's Facilitator Role The Impact of Harden Turns Playmaker in Cavaliers' Home Debut as Cleveland Routs the Wizards

In his first two games with the Cleveland Cavaliers, James Harden demonstrated his ability to come up with key shots and defensive plays. However, in his home debut against the Washington Wizards, Harden showcased a different side of his game – that of a facilitator.

Harden played 28 minutes, scoring 13 points while dishing out 11 assists as the Cavaliers cruised to a 138-113 victory over the Wizards. Although he shot only 1-of-4 from the field, Harden was a perfect 10-for-12 from the free throw line.

I'll figure it out, Harden said. We'll do some adjusting with each other, but for the most part, I'll play with y'all and do what y'all have been doing, and I'll find my way. He emphasized that winning is the ultimate goal, and as long as the team comes out on top, he's happy.

The crowd at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse made Harden feel welcome, giving him a standing ovation during pregame warmups. The Cavaliers handed out beards on a stick to the sold-out crowd, which seemed to energize the team.

In his debut with the Cavaliers on February 7 against the Sacramento Kings, Harden scored 17 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, helping the team secure a 132-126 win. His game-tying three-pointer followed by Donovan Mitchell's pair of free throws sealed a 119-117 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.

However, Wednesday's game showed that Harden can still have a significant impact even when he isn't taking shots. His 11 assists led to 26 points, with Sam Merrill – who scored a career-high 32 points – benefiting from Harden's playmaking abilities.

Most teams run similar stuff, so it's just figuring out the wording of it, Merrill said. Today we're watching clips of what we can do offensively and there are three or four clips, it's the Clippers, and we're just kind of seeing what James is doing.

Harden has recorded two double-doubles in his three games with Cleveland, including 10 rebounds against the Nuggets. Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell has scored at least 30 points in each of the past three games.

I mean he sees the game at a different level, Mitchell said. He's out here creating, making plays, doing different things and then obviously his gravity opens up the lane for everybody else.

The Cavaliers have won five straight and 10 of their last 11 games, boasting the league's best winning percentage (.773) since December 29.

Despite adding three new players – Harden, Dennis Schroder, and Keon Ellis – in the past two weeks, the team has managed to keep rolling without a practice session. Coach Kenny Atkinson is looking forward to the upcoming All-Star break to assess the team's performance and explore ways to improve.

I haven't been able to dive as deep as I want to see how we can use them better, he said. But you can see they have immediate chemistry. We ran that one play for Sam eight times, and James was kind of the architect of that and him and Donovan talking.

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Keywords Harden, facilitator, playmaker, Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards

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