The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t gotten off to quite the start many fans may have envisioned, and a large part of that has been the play of star guard James Harden. The Beard hasn’t been as efficient as the team needs him to be, nor has he taken care of the ball the way that is required to win in the modern NBA.

If I had to use one word to describe the play of Harden through his first 2 appearances, it would probably be: sloppy. That probably sums it up best as he genuinely appears to be going through the motions for periods of play.

Through 2 games, the veteran guard has posted averages of 14.0 Points, 5.5 Rebounds, and 6.0 Assists. That doesn’t sound terrible on the surface and for many other players, it would be a versatile stat line. That said, there are two glaring issues with his stat line overall.

The first is inefficiency. Harden has completed just 30.0% (6/20) of his field goals, including 33.3% from long distance. And while he's still generating a ton of contact, which has led to 6.0 free-throw attempts per game, he’s still been less efficient at the line than he normally would be, converting on 80.0% from the charity stripe.

The second major issue is ball security. Harden has turned the ball over nearly as frequently as he did during the 2025-26 postseason, as he’s given the ball up 10 times already for an average of 5.0 per outing. He has nearly as many turnovers as assists (12).

Keep in mind, he turned the ball over 83 times with Cleveland last year during the regular season. So, he’s already managed to hand it over to the opposition 12% of what he did last year. That simply won’t cut it.

Heading back to the efficiency of it all, Harden has simply failed to convert on his attempts. Especially from long range, as 7 of his 12 total attempts have been considered “wide-open” by NBA standards. He’s gone just 2/7 (28.6%) on those looks.

When pulling up, he’s converted on just 1/5 (20.0%) attempts and just hasn’t been effective yet. The good news is that the veteran guard remains a threat to draw contact with his signature step-back. So even if he’s not making shots, his gravity is still a very useful weapon to be wielded.

Harden appears to be emphasizing getting his teammates involved, which is a good thing. But his ability to create for himself is still a huge part of this team’s success for better or worse. And even when he’s off-ball, his shot-making as a catch-and-shoot threat remains critical to generating space for others to work with.

I can appreciate Harden attempting to work the ball to his teammates throughout the course of games. He’s already connected with Cleveland’s prized acquisition of the off-season in Peyton Watson, for 4 Assists on 22 total passes. Likewise, he’s involved Mobley more, issuing him 26 passes, which have resulted in 3 Assists.

Those are not bad things. Harden simply must be more effective as a shot maker and more judicious as a ball handler. Unfortunately for the Arizona State product, the competition won't let up any time soon as Cleveland will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at home.