James Harden is straight up not having a good time dealing with the Detroit Pistons in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ semifinal matchup against the Eastern Conference’s top-seeded team this season. In Game 2, Harden had another night to forget. He finished with just 10 points on a brutal 3-13 shooting from the field, and he turned the ball over four times, including one backbreaking giveaway in the clutch, as the Cavs fell behind 2-0 in the series courtesy of a 107-97 loss on Thursday.
Harden was brought in to expedite the Cavs’ contending timeline and give them a reliable star to pair with Donovan Mitchell in the backcourt. Never mind the fact that Harden has a few stinkers in his playoff resume — he is healthy come playoff time, and his availability is a huge improvement over Darius Garland’s health uncertainty.
However, with the Cavs being in an unfavorable spot in their series against the Pistons, criticism is once again raining down on Harden amid his struggles when the team needs him the most.
“Today was James Harden’s 182nd career playoff game. It was the 36th time he’s had 3 or fewer made field goals. Nearly 20% of his career playoff games. It was the 46th time that he’s had as many or more turnovers than made field goals. More than 25% of his career playoff games,” noted pundit Nick Wright of FOX Sports 1 wrote on his official account on X.
At 36 years of age, Harden is more susceptible to a bad game than ever, and these games are simply magnified when the pressure is mounting. It did not help that the Cavs were -15 in Harden’s 37 minutes in their Game 2 loss all while they were just -2 in Mitchell’s minutes.
The Cavs must have known what they were getting when they acquired Harden. Harden did help rejuvenate their season and he was very much a driving force behind their first-round series win over the Toronto Raptors. But it’s time for the 36-year-old to step up, especially with Cleveland’s season hanging in the balance as they head into Game 3 down 2-0.