How James Harden Injury Could Shake Up Cavaliers’ Playoff Push

When the Cleveland Cavaliers moved on from their young two-time All-Star Darius Garland, they were looking to find a replacement who was going to be available for a playoff push. For all of his faults, James Harden is almost always available. He’s had weak playoff performances and has constantly been switching teams, but over the course of his seventeen-year career, he’s been one of the more durable players in the league.

Just seven games into his tenure with the Cavaliers, Harden has suffered a non-displaced fracture of his thumb, putting his future status in doubt. He’s questionable in a back-to-back against the Milwaukee Bucks, but no matter the case, it’s brutal to see him get an injury that might stick with him for the rest of the season.

Harden has been an invaluable playmaker since arriving in Cleveland. The Cavs have had the second-best offensive rating in the league since the trade, and Harden has been averaging 8 assists a night. Cleveland has desperately needed more ball handlers who could provide constant rim pressure, and he’s done just that.

Jarrett Allen had been heating up before the trade, but it’s been incredible to see his role increase since being paired with Harden. Cleveland didn’t always excel at keeping Allen involved in the offense, and I feel that hurt him as a defensive rebounder, too. Harden had been operating wonderfully with Allen in the pick and roll, and also excels at finding Allen when he’s been a baseline cutter. This constant activity on offense has contributed to a higher defensive motor for Allen.

However, Allen isn’t the only beneficiary; this has been a symbiotic relationship. The elite spacing provided by the rest of the Cavs, and an athletic rim-running center, have rejuvenated Harden as well. He’s shooting 49.4% from the field, which would be a career high for him, as he’s shooting more catch-and-shoot threes and benefiting from less double coverage than almost any point in his career.

Luckily, Harden wasn’t the only move the Cavs made at the deadline. Dennis Schroeder has taken over as the backup point guard after a failed experiment with Lonzo Ball in the first half of the year. Schroeder has raised the floor of this Cavs bench, flipping what was a weakness into a strength since his arrival.

The Cavs had been able to stagger Harden and Donovan Mitchell minutes, but if this injury keeps Harden out for any period of time, it’ll be interesting to see what type of role Schroeder will step into.

Jaylon Tyson and Sam Merrill have taken massive leaps forward this season and will once again be thrust into larger roles with a Harden injury. Hopefully Harden is able recover quickly, as I’m not sure playing through a hand injury before the playoffs will be great in the long term for Harden.