James Harden Suffered Hand Injury During Cavaliers’ Win vs. Knicks

The Cavaliers put together what felt like a statement victory on Tuesday, beating the Knicks for the first time this season, 109–94. Cleveland moved to 6–1 since the trade for James Harden, who had 20 points in the outing.

Now, the Cavaliers may be without the veteran guard for some time.

Harden suffered a fracture in his right thumb during the win over New York, according to ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania. He will undergo “further evaluations and treatment,” per the report.

No timeline has been given for Harden’s return.

James Harden’s injury comes after coach Kenny Atkinson raved about the impact he’s made on the Cavaliers

During the peak of his powers, Harden was a ball-dominant lead guard who the Rockets built their entire roster around. In the years since, beginning with his time with the Nets alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, he’s molded his game to fit in alongside other star players. In Cleveland, the adjustment to playing with Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and the rest of coach Kenny Atkinson’s deep squad has been rapid, and Atkinson credits Harden with imbuing the team with confidence that it can compete with the top teams in the league.

“Listen, bringing James on has given us a renewed confidence, if that makes sense. We understand we're a better team,” Atkinson said after Tuesday’s win. "That spirit, that confidence for some strange reason, it makes you play harder, and compete harder, and compete harder defensively. And I felt that we were missing that edge, that belief, so I feel like we’re regaining that. And again, a lot of that has to do with who we added.”

Harden has played well alongside Mitchell, the Cavaliers’ lead guard, and has impressive early pick-and-roll chemistry with Allen, who has played some of the best basketball of his career in February.

Seven games is a small sample size, but Harden believes Cleveland has what it takes to become a truly elite team this year.

“We're good, but we got a few more notches to get to and with only what, 25 games left? But I think we can get there. Matter of fact, I know we can get there. And I think it's going to start defensively, because offensively—six guys in double figures. I can impact the game. I can have 20-something [points] I can have 30-something. Donovan can do the same thing, but we can also facilitate and got guys that can make shots and bigs that can help us with that. So, I think defensively is going to be the key. If we can find a way to like really hone in defensively and really get stops and limit teams to one shot, we're going to be very, very tough. And we have no other choice but to get there.”

The Cavaliers’ defense may continue moving forward if Harden is absent for any amount of time, but as a whole this could be a real setback for a team that has had just seven games and two practices in its current form.

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