James Harden made one request upon becoming a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers after the huge commerce in February.
It was one thing off the court, a observe he’d engaged in for many of his 17 storied NBA seasons, the place tape finally ends up on the ground. The sort of factor a few of his new, youthful Cavaliers teammates had by no means achieved earlier than, whereas even some veterans had solely dabbled in it right here or there, however actually not in Cleveland.
When Harden’s new coach, Kenny Atkinson, heard Harden make the request, he scrunched his eyes and shook his head. “I’m like, eh, this isn’t my thing,” Atkinson recalled as his preliminary response.
There are different groups in the NBA that may merely refuse to partake in such conduct. But Harden was coming from L.A., the place this type of factor was widespread.
Harden, 36, along with his well-known, protruding beard and these darkish, piercing eyes, was decided to make use of his star energy to get his method, to deliver with him a slice of consolation to a new metropolis.
Harden requested the Cavs if they might thoughts…staging walk-throughs in lodge ballrooms on sport days with no shootarounds on the highway.
What? What did you suppose he was going to ask for, sickos?
“It’s just preparation, detail, you get ready for the game,” Harden defined to The Athletic. “Physically you get out and move around, and mentally you have to be prepared. It’s just preparation man, especially going into this run that we are about to go into. I think the focus is making sure we know who we’re playing against and individual guys and what they like to do with their tendencies. Just going to give us an advantage and hopefully we can play better.”
The Cavs acquired Harden from the LA Clippers for Darius Garland in one among the greatest deadline offers of the season, gained their first 5 video games with him in uniform, and are 18-6 with him on the court. Cleveland’s offense is the finest in the NBA since he performed his first sport Feb. 7.
Harden is one among the league’s best playmakers, particularly in isolation offense, which he has run with mastery for many of his profession. But that’s not likely the Cavs’ offense beneath Atkinson — they’re extra of a passing and reducing unit. Which is why, when Atkinson was requested over the final two weeks about acclimating Harden into the crew, he marveled at how few modifications they needed to make to accommodate his sport. The walkthrough factor was, Atkinson mentioned, Harden’s solely request for change.
“He’s completely adapted to our style of play, which is pretty, I would assume, rare,” Atkinson mentioned.
Harden is an 11-time All-Star who was arguably snubbed from the NBA’s exhibition basic this season after taking part in so properly for the Clippers. He’s by no means missed the playoffs, ever, a streak that was prolonged with the Cavs’ win over Golden State final week that clinched them a spot in the match.
Stars wield energy in skilled sports activities, and that energy can result in some unusual requests of their employers. Michael Jordan, No. 3 decide of the 1984 draft who turned out to be fairly good, insisted on a clause in his first contract with the Chicago Bulls that allowed him to play pick-up basketball. It was known as a “Love of the Game” clause. By comparability to a few of the different loopy requests in professional sports activities historical past, Jordan’s was tame.
Former Major League pitcher Roy Oswalt negotiated a bulldozer from the Houston Astros for profitable playoff video games. After his storied Major League profession was completed, Manny Ramirez went to Japan and requested for (and obtained) unlimited free sushi, a Mercedes and a driver, and language in his contract stating that, for him, practices had been “optional.”
Players may make requests, however these are extra like calls for, to depart a crew earlier than their contracts are up, through commerce. This occurs on occasion in the NBA. What are some examples? Hmmm, let’s see… oh, sure, Kawhi Leonard famously did this as soon as, pushing his method out of San Antonio. Jimmy Butler has pulled it off a couple of instances. Anthony Davis pressured New Orleans to commerce him to the Lakers, Kyrie Irving pushed the Cavs to commerce him in the summer season of 2017, and so on.
In different sports activities, John Elway, a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, threatened to play baseball for the Yankees as a substitute of becoming a member of the Baltimore Colts, who drafted him in 1983, and they in the end traded him to Denver. Two a long time later, in 2004, Eli Manning succeeded in getting San Diego to commerce him instantly after drafting him No. 1.
Again, what!? Harden would ne…OK, positive, however his singular request of Cleveland was nothing like that.
“I was like, a little skeptical. I think film (is enough),” Atkinson defined of Harden’s ballroom request. “And then we did it, and we went through it. So we’re like communicating through it and talking through coverages and I’m like, hey, this could be a good thing.”
Most NBA groups no less than often maintain one thing on the morning of their video games known as a “shootaround.” It’s a partial observe, on the court, often at the enviornment (for the highway crew), through which coaches go over the opponent’s tendencies, sport plans are mentioned and gamers end with capturing drills.
But these shootarounds might be canceled for any variety of causes, together with if the sport is the second in consecutive nights, or if the crew is in the center of a powerful stretch of journey or practiced the day earlier than. In these conditions for the Cavs, beneath Atkinson, they’ve used particular person and crew movie periods to arrange for that night time’s sport.
When Harden arrived through commerce, a commerce he requested from the Clippers, as he has achieved from time-to-time throughout his profession, he was abandoning a coach in Tyronn Lue who typically makes use of ballroom walk-throughs as a substitute of holding shootarounds on the highway. (Irony: Lue did these walk-throughs when he coached the Cavs, a whereas again.)
Low-level assistants use athletic tape to re-create on the ballroom ground the boundaries on a basketball court (like a regulation paint, 3-point line, and many others.). Players schlep downstairs, sporting slippers or sandals, and stroll by the sport plan and what to anticipate from their opponents.
“Football, they do it all the time,” Atkinson mentioned. “There are definitely coaches in this league that do it. I’ve been with teams that have done it, I have been with teams that haven’t done it. I haven’t done it personally, I’ve done it in the playoffs. I think we’ve done (three) with him, and it’s like, man, I like this. Because they have to talk through their coverage, even if they’re in their slippers.”
Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs’ resident celebrity, mentioned he used to do ballroom walkthroughs with the Utah Jazz beneath then-coach Quin Snyder. He known as it a “more old-school” method, and mentioned committing a sport plan to muscle reminiscence carries large advantages for the sport that night time.
“You don’t gotta go full speed, and you can be in your socks for all we care,” Mitchell mentioned. “Being able to be in certain positions in the morning so that way your brain remembers it at night, I think, that’s something I’ve done my whole career. And every coach is different, right, everybody’s different. But I think (Harden) bringing that, I think is special.”
Have different issues “changed” for the Cavs since Harden’s arrival? Sure.
Atkinson says all the time that Cleveland is a “better team” now. Harden wasn’t the solely commerce acquisition (Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis also came to the Cavs from Sacramento), nevertheless it’s clear the Cavs view Harden’s measurement, expertise and “IQ” as upgrades.
Mitchell mentioned the Cavs’ offense has modified, a little, to include Harden’s isolation dominance, but additionally mentioned Harden has match into their authentic schemes. He known as taking part in alongside Harden “calming,” and Utah coach Will Hardy mentioned the mixture of Harden and Mitchell on the ground collectively is “nightmare fuel.”
“We’re not gonna completely flip, right?” Mitchell mentioned. “I think that’s a testament to him. We’ve also adjusted, and we knew that when we were gonna make the trade, we’re going to have to adjust, for sure. And for him, you see how easy it is for him to make these plays, right? So (the change for the Cavs is) kind of being able to stay in our spots, not as much movement. And then when I’m in the second unit, it’s like, all right, we’re going (to run).”
For his half, Harden mentioned “I’m comfortable” with the Cavs, as in, their schemes and along with his new teammates. And, it seems, their observe habits.
“That’s why you listen to your players, too,” Atkinson mentioned, circling again to the walk-throughs. “At first I was like eh, I wasn’t a big fan. Let’s talk in two months and see if I still like it.”
Just tape on a ballroom ground. Players in slippers.
For James Harden, that’s a fairly modest request.
