James Harden will return to what must be one of his least favorite road sites for the first time as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night when Cleveland closes out a three-game western road trip in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors.<\/p>\n
A 17-year veteran who has played all but 181 of his 1,217 career NBA games for a Western Conference team, Harden was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Cavaliers in February. He since has visited seven of his former western rivals, with the Cavaliers going 5-2.<\/p>\n
The 36-year-old California native has struggled a bit as the Cavaliers have split games on their current trip, held to a total of 30 points and limited to 3-for-10 shooting on 3-pointers as Cleveland (47-29) won at Utah before Tuesday’s 127-113 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/p>\n
Counting playoffs, Harden has faced the Warriors 71 times in his career, going 36-35, including just 7-16 in four playoff-series losses. Oakland and San Francisco have been especially harsh on him, where he’s lost on 21 of 36 visits, including 11 of 12 in the postseason.<\/p>\n
He’s had plenty of individual highlights in the San Francisco Bay Area, including a pair of 39-point games, a triple-double on a 44-point night, another during a 15-rebound performance and a third while running up 15 assists. He also had 45- and 41-point outings in playoff wins for the Houston Rockets in 2015 and 2019, respectively.<\/p>\n
Add it up and he ranks fourth among active players in points scored against the Warriors with 1,122, with a chance to pass Russell Westbrook (1,134) for third on Thursday. He’s also currently first in 3-pointers (139), third in assists (347) and steals (78), and sixth in rebounds (261).<\/p>\n
Harden was still a member of the Clippers when the Warriors, without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green, went to Cleveland in December and shocked the Cavaliers 99-94. Pat Spencer led the way with 19 points.<\/p>\n
The Warriors will be without Curry and Butler for the rematch as well, while the Cavaliers will have Max Strus and Sam Merrill, who also missed the earlier meeting.<\/p>\n
Harden says having two important role players alongside makes a difference.<\/p>\n
“Two of the smartest basketball players that I’ve played with,” the veteran said to reporters recently. “Obviously they can shoot the crap out of the ball, but their body movement – knowing when to screen, when not to screen, how to screen – is very, very important for somebody that can actually shoot the ball like them.<\/p>\n
“It’s rare that you can have that. When you find that, it means you got something special.”<\/p>\n
While the Cavaliers attempt to keep pace with the New York Knicks (49-28), who beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night, in their duel for third place in the Eastern Conference, the Warriors (36-40) will be looking to keep from losing ground in their battle for ninth place in the West with the Portland Trail Blazers (39-38), who host New Orleans on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Coming off a 127-113 spanking at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs on the front end of a back-to-back, the Warriors are hopeful of having Curry, who has missed 26 straight games with a sore knee, back by the end of the week.<\/p>\n
Warriors coach Steve Kerr gave an encouraging report before Wednesday’s game.<\/p>\n
“Everybody said he looked good and felt good,” Kerr said of a five-on-five trial run in which Curry participated Tuesday. “He’ll have another scrimmage in the next couple of days. That’s the next step.”<\/p>\n
The Warriors play Sunday against one of Harden’s former teams, the Rockets.<\/p>\n
– Field Level Media<\/p>\n
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