James Harden, Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder all made their home debuts for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night at Rocket Arena, and they all played a role in a 138-113 win over the Washington Wizards that extended their wine-and-gold winning streak to five games heading into the NBA All-Star break. They may have been new faces to the team, but all received a warm welcome from the Cleveland crowd.
“The crowd is always crazy,” Harden said after the game. “Whenever I come here as a visitor, they are crazy about the Cavs and The Land and are very loyal, and they show up every night. It’s one of the things I’m most excited about, so tonight was no different.”
In his Cavs home debut, Harden put up a modest 13 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds and one block in 28 minutes of action. He was troubled by his “carelessness” with the ball, evidenced by six turnovers. However, the chemistry he established with the guys in the first three games was natural, so much so that he barely had to score.
Sam Merrill’s 32-point outburst, Donovan Mitchell’s ho-hum 30-ball, and Jarrett Allen’s 8-of-8 performance are a perfect example of the weapons Cleveland has, Harden said, and he’s here for just one reason.
“I hit four shots, but we won by 25 points,” Harden said. “That’s the most important thing. I just come here to win, so whatever that looks like, if I have to go out there and score a lot of points, or I have to take four shots and we win, that’s the most important thing to me. And tonight was one of those examples.”
“Other than the turnovers, I wasn’t going to go out there and force shots. The first home game, I’m excited, definitely excited, but we play the right brand of basketball and people understand the right brand of basketball that we’re going to play consistently. That’s going to come to me. There’s going to be nights where I’ll score 35-40, you know what I mean? That’s kind of the mentality for all of us. So Sam got it going. Don obviously got it. To be continued. Well played. Who’s next?”
In addition to Harden, the Cavs’ first two acquisitions of the trade deadline also made their presence known, and they felt the energy.
“Really good, really good,” Ellis said. “Tyrese [Proctor] Told me that the fans – I’ve heard from others too – I’ve heard that the fans here are really nice. This is a sports city. Actually, Matthew Dellavedova – he was my teammate when I was in Sacramento – he messaged me when I got traded. He was like, ‘Yeah, you’ll like it.’ Definitely a sports city.’ So yeah, there was definitely good energy there tonight.”
“The fans were unbelievable,” Schroder said. “To be in this side now, it’s amazing. I’m looking forward to it, having that kind of home crowd at every single home game. The couple of months before the start of the season, were a bit tough. But to have a home crowd that is behind you every single game is something special, and we won’t take that lightly.”
Both Schröder and Ellis played with different combinations and lineups between the starting five and the bench. Both made a huge impact and, most importantly, showed the patience Cleveland had for acquiring them.
“I was playing Eddie [Anthony Davis]with brawn [James]On the same court with Austin Reeves,” Schroder said. “Over the last six to seven years, I’ve found my way to impact the game, or impact the win. Whatever game it is, that’s what I try to do. Dog mentality, I think we have high character guys in this locker room, but if we turn it around in there, I think especially on the defensive side of the ball, I think we can do a lot of big things here. I’m looking forward to it.”
“At the end of the day, we’re all just trying to go out there and work hard and try to get wins,” Ellis said. “And I mean, the way I play my role, I think it can be easily translated. But I just go out there, try to make winning plays, be in the right spots, and just do my job and let everything else take care of itself. So I think we’re all professionals. We know what needs to be done and what doesn’t, and so I think it makes it easier for everybody.”
The Cavs have ended the unofficial first half of the season on a high note, just scratching the surface of what they may be capable of. It’s time to recharge, then, when everyone comes back and, as Schröder said, “It’s time to go.”
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