Кливленд Кавалерс багийн хамгаалагч Жэймс Харден Нью-Йорк Никс багийг 115-107-оор хожсон тоглолтод 14 шидэлтээс 32 оноо авч, өөрийн ур чадварыг дахин харууллаа.
Энэ улирлын эхний 11 тоглолтод дунджаар 15.3 оноо авч, 36.4 хувийн довтолгооны амжилттай тоглож байсан Харден ийнхүү улирлын шилдэг үзүүлэлтээ гаргав. Тэрээр хоёрдугаар үеэс гаднаас довтолж, улмаар дөрөвдүгээр үед будагтай талбай руу довтолж есөн оноо авснаар багтаа чухал ялалт авчирлаа.
Тоглолтын дараа Харден өөрийн тоглолтын өөрчлөлтийн талаар “Би өмнөх шигээ хурдан биш болсон тул биеийн бэлтгэлээ сайжруулж, багийн нөхөдтэйгөө ойлголцож, өөр хэв маягаар тоглож сурахыг хичээж байна. Одоо би зөвхөн оноо авахаас гадна тоглолтод нөлөөлөх бусад арга замыг хайж байна” хэмээн ярьжээ. Тэрээр 37 настай, 18 жилийн туршлагатай тоглогчийн хувьд өөрийн тоглолтоо шинэ нөхцөл байдалд дасан зохицуулах шаардлагатай байгааг хүлээн зөвшөөрөв.
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Nov 11, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) reacts during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Thirty-two points on 14 shots in a much-neededCleveland Cavalierswin over the New York Knicks was a good reminder of who James Harden is. And in case there was still any confusion, the former MVP made sure to clear everything up afterward.
“My name is James Harden. I used to score a lot of points,” Harden told reporters Wednesday evening.
That clarification was needed based on how Harden’s first 11 outings had gone. He entered Wednesday’s game in New York averaging an uncharacteristic 15.3 points per game, shooting a dreadful 36.4% from the field. Harden has been a step slow and unable to create space off the dribble.
There’s a downstream effect to Harden not being able to score. The passing lanes dry up when defenders don’t have to help cut off his drives. This has left him as an inefficient scorer and inept playmaker at the start of the season.
Yet, he doesn’t have to be that player.
Wednesday, Harden showed that he still has the talent to be a dynamic scoring guard. He got the outside shot working in the second quarter, and then expanded his game from there. Defenders had to overplay him on the perimeter, which allowed him to attack inside. He used that to his advantage to score nine points in the fourth quarter, which included two finishes inside the paint.
In short, he was the Harden we’ve seen wreck defenses for over a decade and a half, not the one that we saw in the first 11 games this season.
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The Cavs would be a championship contender if they could guarantee performances like this from Harden in the playoffs.
Being able to score and playmake at this level would mean teams couldn’t load up to stop Donovan Mitchell, and it would create easy scoring opportunities for Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley inside. But you can’t ensure this version of Harden on a nightly basis, or even for big games he gets up for. Age catches up to every player, especially a 37-year-old like Harden who has played nearly 50,000 minutes in his 18-year career.
Instead of counting on Harden to play as he did in his prime, he’s trying to find other ways to adapt his game to his current situation.
“I just focus on myself, things I need to do, and try to get in really good shape and learn my teammates and learn how to play a different brand of basketball, because I’m not the same fast person that I was like five or six years ago,” Harden said.
Harden is still playing his way into shape, admitting that he wasn’t as young as he used to be, so he “can’t just be ready” at the start of the season. It takes a “bit of time to get adjusted to the speed, the pace, all of the above.” But even when he does get back up to speed, the explosiveness isn’t there for him to be the guy he was with the Houston Rockets.
Instead, Harden will need to find different ways to impact winning in this new reality he finds himself in. If someone can make that adjustment, it’s a player as skilled and as smart as Harden. That adjustment won’t happen overnight. There will undoubtedly be more lows like we saw in the embarrassing loss to the Charlotte Hornets earlier this week, but the Cavs are more than willing to endure those games if it means Harden can eventually find his way. Because in the end, the Cavaliers’ hopes and dreams for this season and the next two depend on Harden putting the pieces together.
“Now I still score points, but I’m finding other ways to impact the game as well,” Harden said. “And I think that’s what people probably don’t understand.”
