When the Cleveland Cavaliers were building their current backcourt lineup, the whole idea was that other teams wouldn’t be able to slow down the one-two punch of Donovan Mitchell next to James Harden. Two of the best shooters in the league running the team together? It sounded like a dream come true for the Cavs.
Currently, that pairing isn’t adding up to what the Cavaliers need. Harden just had a disappointing showing against the New York Knicks and, overall, Cleveland’s offensive rating with Mitchell and Harden playing together isn’t strong enough. Speaking on the Wine & Gold Talk Podcast, Chris Fedor didn’t go easy on the Cavaliers.
He said that Mitchell and Harden simply are not “good enough” together right now.
“The whole idea of James Harden and Donovan Mitchell together is that it just puts the opposing defense in such a bind,” Fedor said. “With those two guys on the floor, the Cavs have an offensive rating of 110. That’s not good enough.”
A 110 offensive rating might have been enough last season, but the Eastern Conference is so dominant this year that the Cavaliers will need to bring a lot more to the court. The Knicks proved that with their 109-97 triumph over Cleveland.
The good news for the Cavaliers is that it’s still early in the season and the Mitchell-Harden duo might be able to clean things up and get in better shape soon. Multiple teams have had similar problems with Harden over the years, and he is often able to change his trajectory and play better.
However, the longer the team faces backcourt struggles, the more other teams will be able to move beyond them. The 76ers, for example, aren’t experiencing any backcourt issues, and they definitely aren’t slowing down.
The blame doesn’t just belong to Harden. He might be having the most obvious problems, but the entire team needs to step up offensively. They have time, but fans will be very relieved if they address this issue sooner rather than later.
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