How James Harden Is Already Assisting Cavaliers Coaching Staff

What can't he do?

That's surely the question surrounding the extended honeymoon period that has accompanied James Harden to Cleveland since arriving via trade last week.

In just over a week Harden's turned Jarrett Allen into the second-coming of Wilt Chamberlin (OK, maybe a slight exaggeration), dominated fourth quarters, influenced more than a few men in the 330 to grow out their beards, and probably forced dozens to tape duct tape and sharpie to those Max Strus jerseys.

As impressive as all of the above has been, Harden's off-court skillset is what has Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson most impressed.

Prior to Cleveland's Wednesday night home game with Washington, Atkinson talked about what else Harden's done since arriving in Cleveland.

"He's a good communicator, I can see that already," Atkinson told media members. "Not overbearing. Some guys want to come in and kind of weigh in on everything. I think (Harden's) picking his spots."

Harden brings more than scoring to Cavs

This is a good time to remind everyone that Harden is an 11-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA selection and the 2018 league MVP. Harden's a whole lot more than buckets. Lots and lots of buckets. The next current or former teammate to speak of Harden in a negative way will be the first.

You can say the same for most, if not all, of The Beard's coaches as well. And Atkinson doesn't seem likely to change those opinions anytime soon. "He's picking his spots, asking a lot of questions," Atkinson commented about Harden pregame.

Before tipoff against the Wizards Atkinson also remarked that Harden noticed two things on film that coaches hadn't even noticed and pointed them out to the players and staff.

"He's gonna really help our young players and our role players," added Atkinson, the Cavs' second-year head coach.

Atkinson didn't say as much and he likely never will, but you can bet he and Koby Altman, President of the Cavaliers, were aware of Harden's basketball IQ, reputation as a teammate and leadership skills prior to trading for him. The skillset has always been visible, even to a basketball novice. But it's the behind the scenes, off the floor competencies and capabilities that Cleveland has in Harden that didn't seem as present with Darius Garland.

Sure, some of that comes with age and experience, but Garland wasn't known as a vocal guy, and you'd be hard-pressed to find mentions of any particular film study. That's no knock on DG. He's one of the more talented guards in the league, but some players just have that little something extra.

It appears as if Harden's one of those guys.