The Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t manage the quick turnaround between Game 7 of their first-round series against the Toronto Raptors and Game 1 of their second-round series against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. Cleveland rebounded from a slow start to make a late run at the top-seed in the Eastern Conference, but the Pistons still escaped with a 111-101 victory to take a 1-0 series lead.
Overall sluggishness and lack of execution, especially in the first half, doomed the Cavs in this game, but point guard James Harden’s lackluster performance was also a big reason for Cleveland’s Game 1 demise. Harden has been turning the ball over far too much in these playoffs, and he added seven more to his total on Tuesday night.
That brings Harden’s total to 43 turnovers in eight games this postseason, a rate of more than five giveaways per game. That isn’t going to cut it if Cleveland is going to realize its championship dreams.
At times, especially during his prime days, Harden could make up for some of his turnover woes with incredible offensive efficiency, both as a scorer and a playmaker. That wasn’t the case in this game, however, as the former MVP scored 22 points on 6-of-15 shooting and 1-of-7 from the 3-point line. He added eight rebounds and seven assists to his total.
The Pistons’ suffocating defense also made things tough on Harden’s costar, Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell shot just 9-of-19 from the floor on his way to a 23-point night in the loss. If the Cavs want to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole in Game 2 on Thursday, both Harden and Mitchell will have to have bounce-back games.
Detroit’s stars also struggled in this game, as Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren combined for just 34 points on 10-of-30 shooting. However, big contributions from the likes of Tobias Harris and Duncan Robinson proved to be the difference.
The Pistons have a number of long, athletic defenders to throw at Harden in this series, and that bothered him in Game 1. The future Hall of Famer’s ability to protect the ball against that defense is a storyline to watch going forward.