On Wednesday evening, the Cleveland Cavs took a 3-2 lead in their series against the Detroit Pistons with a narrow overtime road win in Game 5. James Harden shook off some playoff demons in this one by scoring 30 points to help the Cavs rally down the stretch of regulation and pull through in overtime.
Still, recently, former NBA big man and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins stopped by The Pat McAfee Show and broke down why the pressure is still on Harden to deliver and close out this series for the Cavs.
“No one ever doubted that James Harden couldn’t win you a few playoff games. It’s all about James Harden completing the mission and closing out the series,” said Perkins, per Pat McAfee on X, formerly Twitter.
Indeed, some of Harden’s more infamous playoff performances have come in closeout and elimination games throughout his career, and it will be up to the Beard to help disprove that narrative about himself over the final game, or games, of this series.
At one point, the Cavs found themselves down 0-2 in their matchup against the Pistons, but have since rallied to win three straight, picking up their first road victory of the playoffs on Wednesday night. Donovan Mitchell has put up some Herculean stat lines in this series, including 39 points in the second half alone to help Cleveland pull away in Game 5, and the Cavs are now just one win away from advancing to their first Eastern Conference Finals in the post-LeBron James era, with the New York Knicks awaiting on the other side.
In any case, Game 6 of the Cavs vs Pistons series is slated to get underway on Friday evening back home in what should be a packed house in Cleveland.