In the Eastern Conference Semifinals series opener, the Detroit Pistons were likely worried about containing James Harden. He is an all-world talent, and someone that most teams have a hard time stopping. As a result, the Pistons were throwing defenders at him from different angles, and in the process, they discovered his biggest weakness: taking care of the basketball. This might be new to them, as they’ve never seen Harden in the playoffs, but it’s not to the LA Clippers and their fans.
In the game one loss, Harden posted seven atrocious turnovers for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Though that’s a red flag to say the least, for the last three seasons, the former MVP has led LA in this category in particular.
As a matter of fact, Clipper Nation has seen Harden make the silliest of mistakes in various ways. He could make a bad pass, dribble off his foot, or simply lose the ball, leading to simple points in the opposite direction.
Well, the Pistons saw a variety of these, and that’s partially how they came away with a double-digit win.
James Harden is a turnover machine if there is one
As a member of the LA Clippers, the biggest question looming over James Harden was “could he consistently protect the basketball?” and the answer was always no. To his credit, Harden does make a high volume of passes, but at the same time, there’s a limit, and on several occasions, he has exceeded it.
It’s like a handful of his best games, wins or losses, were stained with the fact that he couldn't execute in an efficient fashion as a point guard is supposed to.
Scoring the ball is one thing, which everyone knows he’s good at, but if he can’t facilitate the floor without giving the defense easy opportunities, there’s clearly a problem.
Now, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he’s doing the same, and the Detroit Pistons are all for it. For context, Harden has thus far in the playoffs racked up 50 assists and turned the ball over 43 times.
That’s absolutely awful, and while the Cavaliers were able to get away with it against the Toronto Raptors, they won’t versus the Pistons, who were the first seed in the regular season and have a ton of momentum flowing with them following their 3-1 first-round comeback.
So, if the Cavaliers continue to fall and Harden is unable to control his turnovers, we know who to point the finger at.
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