How James Harden Immediately Became Donovan Mitchell's Most Talented Teammate Ever

Donovan Mitchell has always been the highest-performing star on his team since his sophomore year of college at Louisville. Mitchell has always been the star who needs a legitimate co-star who can help dominate on the offensive end with him.

The Utah Jazz failed to properly get him a legit co-star during his five seasons in Utah. They invested heavily in defensive big man Rudy Gobert and assembled casts of talented players, but they never gave Mitchell someone who doesn't make him feel like he needs to be a superhero all the time. Gobert was never going to be that.

Darius Garland had his moments where he could be a dominate games through his individual offense, but it was never consistent enough and he also wasn't available as often as Cavaliers fans would've liked.

James Harden can dominate a game on his own. When the game is seperated by just a few points in the late stages of the fourth quarter, Harden is someone who can intiate offense with ease and with calmness. Mitchell shouldn't have to feel like he needs to shoot 25 times every game now that he has Harden on the floor with him. Mitchell is very optimistic about what this duo can look like on the court alongside the big frontcourt duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

James Harden is still the system

Mitchell spoke with Andscape this past weekend over the All-Star break festivities and talked about the kind of player James Harden is.

"I’ve never played with a guy like James Harden. I never had a guy like that on my team. And we’re not here to figure out like who’s bigger, better or whatever. How are we going to win? And I think having that relationship helps. But it also speaks to the type of people that he and I are. We’re trying to figure what’s right."
Donovan Mitchell to Andscape

Harden made his Cleveland Cavaliers debut February 7 against the Sacramento Kings. He dropped 23 points, eight assists, and splashed home five three-pointers in a victory over Russell Westbrook and the Sacramento Kings. In a 25-point victory over the Washington Wizards, Harden shot the ball just four times from the field, scored 13 points, and dished out 11 assists to teammates.

Predictably, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen is benefitting greatly from Harden's presence. There's something to be said about Harden's gravity and his ability to manipulate defenses. His savviness in the pick-and-roll as the ball handler and around the rim as a driver is still top-tier even in his older age In the three games Allen has played with Harden, he is averaging 24 points and 10.7 rebounds. Mobley returning before the playoffs will only create more opportunities Harden to operate and for the defense to dominate.

Harden's mindset is contagious

James Harden showing support for Donovan Mitchell in his introductory press conference was huge for Mitchell to hear. It's clear the only thing on either of their minds is winning a championship. For Harden, 36, the time is running out and the urgency has never been higher.

For us to coexist, just to be able to communicate and have that open dialog — ‘Hey, this is what I see. This is where I can help build off you.’...I don’t care how it happens. Let’s try to win the game. Winning is the end all, right? I’m not worried about how we’ll fit and how we’ll coexist because we have the same goal in mind, and it doesn’t matter how we get there. We just want to get there."
Donovan Mitchell to Andscape

In the three games Mitchell played with Harden before the All-Star break, Mitchell averaged 32.3 points, 6.3 assists, and two steals. The Cavaliers won all three of those games. Cleveland is also on a five-game winning streak and has won ten of their last 11 regular season games.

Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson leads his team back home into Rocket Arena against the rebuilding Brooklyn Nets at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on FanDuel Sports Network Ohio and NBA League Pass.

James Harden is still the system

Harden's mindset is contagious

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