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The NBA released a list of their best selling jerseys. The results should come as little surprise. At the top, Stephen Curry. The two-time MVP is the greatest shooter of all time. He’s the face of the last NBA dynasty, and an internationally recognized superstar.

Luka Doncic has the second best selling jersey. He’s the leagues best scorer and ranks third in assists and three-pointers made, and twenty-second in rebounds.

The third best jersey sales goes to Jalen Brunson. The once back-up Dallas Mavericks guard honed his game in New York and revealed a three-time All-Star.

And the fourth best selling jersey this season belongs to the face of the NBA. San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama continues to shatter records as he molds himself to MVP levels. His maturity, grace, and eloquence is infusing an international appeal transcending the court

All-time legend LeBron James has the fifth best selling jersey this season. The hardest working man on the hardwood still plays at a high level considering the years, games, and minutes he’s played over the last two-plus decades.

Anthony Edwards (6), Jayson Tatum (7), Shai Gilgeous- Alexander (8), Cooper Flagg (9), and Nikola Jokic (10) round out the top 10 with Kevin Durant (11), Tyrese Maxey (12), Devin Booker (13), Cade Cunningham (14), and LaMelo Ball (15) close behind.

Are there any of these that catch you off guard?

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This is the second of a series of roundtable questions I’m asking the staff here at Peachtree Hoops about the Hawks as we approach the postseason. Today’s question: should the Hawks have pushed harder for the 5 seed to play the Cavaliers instead of the Knicks?

Wes: For me, no. Making sure your playoff rotation is as healthy as can be for the first round is a much bigger deal than any gap between how difficult the matchups are between the Knicks and the Cavs. There’s just no reason to have anyone turn an ankle in a meaningless game against the Heat.

Jackson: No. I thought going in that New York was a more favorable matchup for the Hawks, primarily due to the Cavs’ size on the interior and the personnel they have to throw at Jalen Johnson defensively. The Hawks are understandably underdogs against New York as well, but things broke well for them matchup-wise in my opinion, and they didn’t risk suffering an unnecessary injury against a physical Heat team.

Malik: I don’t think so. There wasn’t much of a difference between playing the Cavs or Knicks, and neither team has something where I think they’d rather avoid just to play the other. I personally believe the Knicks were the better matchup for the Hawks because you don’t know what you’re going to get from anybody outside of Jalen Brunson on any given game, and that can benefit the Hawks.

Graham: I’m going to say yes, perhaps they should have. I think while both Cleveland and New York are very likely to beat the Hawks on the offensive glass in a series, I actually prefer the Cavaliers matchup for the Hawks than the Knicks, who averaged more offensive rebounds (15) per game in the season-series against the Hawks; Towns and Robinson kicked the Hawks’ ass when they played. I also believe there’s a postseason vulnerability with the Cavaliers, who flamed out after their stellar regular season last season. Donovan Mitchell hasn’t had deep playoff success, Mobley and Allen have disappointed previously in the postseason, and James Harden can be…hit or miss in the postseason.

I’m also thinking of the second-round matchups should the Hawks advance. I think all of the contending Eastern teams will be interested to see how the Detroit Pistons will fare in the postseason, and if I were the Hawks I would be one of those teams interested in testing that squad. That assumes the Hawks progress, which is absolutely not a guarantee, but I think the Hawks should have pushed more for that side of the bracket than the one they ended up in. 

Hassan: I’m going to go with the majority here and say no, the Hawks should not have pushed harder on the final day of the regular season to try to face Cleveland instead of New York in the first-round of the playoffs. Given that the Hawks are currently operating on 24 year-old Jalen Johnson’s timeline, any postseason experience for this iteration of the team is a positive, and I don’t think the team’s odds of advancing out of the first-round would be significantly different if they were playing the Cavs rather than the Knicks. 

Man for man, Cleveland has the most talented roster in the Eastern Conference, and as scary as Jalen Brunson is as a postseason closer, I don’t want any part of Donovan Mitchell either. New York’s first-four off the bench are Mitchell Robinson, Miles McBride, Landry Shamet, and Jordan Clarkson – not nearly as frightening as Cleveland’s options off the bench. Given Atlanta’s lack of depth, I think they’ll benefit from playing more of a top-heavy Knicks team. 

Additionally, is there a better place to find out what this team is made of than Madison Square Garden – one of the most raucous playoff atmospheres in the league? What is for certain is that if any of Atlanta’s starters suffered an injury on the final day of the regular season, their chances of advancing out of the first-round – regardless of their opponent – would have taken a major hit. Simply put, not worth the gamble. Bring it on, New York!

On Saturday April 18th at 7:30 PM CST, the world will be tuning on to watch two of the greatest players of all-time square off in the postseason for the fourth time in the careers of Kevin Durant and LeBron James. All week the talking heads have been discussing the matchup, and the main focus has been on the headliners, those who are playing and those who aren’t. While the KD and LeBron matchup is fascinating, there is a much more storied rivalry that this series presents. It has nothing to do with the names on the back of the jersey’s, but on the front of them.

The Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers will be meeting in the playoffs for the 10th time in the history of their respective franchises. From the Lakers perspective, the Rockets are their fifth most frequent playoff opponent behind only the Trailblazers, Spurs, Suns, and Celtics. For the Rockets, this series will put the Lakers at the top of the list of their most frequent postseason opponents, narrowly passing the Utah Jazz. The Lakers lead in series wins six (1990, 1991, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2020) to the Rockets three series victories (1981, 1986, 1996).

1981 – Houston beats the Lakers in the 1st Round

The Lakers were the defending champs that season, and the Rockets had gone 40-42 securing the sixth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference. Moses Malone was dominant! Averaging 31.3 points, 17.7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.7 blocks and shot 51-percent from the floor and out playing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar severely in two of the three games. The Houston Rockets shocked the NBA world to defeat the Lakers in the three-game series and would continue to shock the world all the way to the NBA Finals, where they would see their magical run end losing to the Boston Celtics in six games.

1986 – Rockets beat the Lakers in WCF – “The Shot”

Five years removed from the Rockets playing David to the Lakers Goliath, the 1986 Western Conference Finals was billed as a “Clash of the Titans”. The Lakers were once again the defending NBA Champs and after going 62-20, they finished the regular season with the Western Conference’s best record, but this time the Rockets were much more evenly matched opponent on paper, finishing second in the West with a record of 51-31. Houston was not the favorite, but they were no fluke.

“The Twin Towers” made up of Ralph Sampson and a young third year player out of the University of Houston by the name of Hakeem Olajuwon (referred to as “Akeem”, at the time) were unstoppable. Olajuwon averaged 31 points, 11.2 rebounds and 4 blocks per-game. Sampson averaged 20.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.2 blocks per-game. After losing game one in Los Angeles 119-107, the Rockets would go on to win four games straight, capped off by “The Shot”.

With one second on the clock and the game tied 112-112, and the defending champs on the brink of elimination, Rodney McCray threw a mid-court sideline inbounds pass to Ralph Sampson. Sampson had to jump to catch the ball, about 14 feet away with his back toward the basket. In mid-air Sampson contorted his 7-foot 4-inch frame, essentially flipped the basketball behind his head toward the basket. The ball bounced twice on the rim as the buzzer sounded, before falling through and sending the Rockets to the NBA Finals, along with Gene Peterson and his broadcast partner Jim Foley into an absolute frenzy! To this day, it is one of the greatest moments in NBA postseason history. The Rockets unfortunately would go on to lose once again to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

1990- Lakers win series 3-1 in Round 1

The Lakers were the team of the 80s and Rockets had not won a playoff series since 1987. Hakeem Olajuwon was now the lone face of the franchise. The same Lakers team that dominated the 80s was largely still intact. Magic, Worthy, Cooper, Scott, Green and a young 7-foot 1-inch Center from Serbia, Vlade Divac taking the place of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Magic now 30 years old still had the juice to get the Lakers up and down the floor. He averaged 19 points, 7 rebounds and 13.5 assists.

The Rockets were far from a one man show. In fact, Otis Thorpe was the top scorer for the Rockets in the series scoring 20 points a game. Hakeem had a mild scoring series by his standards, averaging just 18 points and 13 rebounds, but he did block nearly 6 shots per-game. Overall, the Lakers proved to be too formidable, and the Rockets postseason ended in just four games. The Lakers would go on to lose to the Phoenix Suns in the next round.

1991 – Lakers Sweep Rockets in Round 1

In 1991 the Rockets and Lakers decided to “run it back”, and it didn’t go as planned for the Rockets. Both teams added a Tar Heel to essentially the same roster from the previous season. The Lakers added the sweet shooting big man Sam Perkins, and the Rockets added the sharpshooting point guard from Queens, Kenny smith.

Adding Smith to the roster made the Rockets more competitive in the individual games, but ultimately it just wasn’t the Rockets’ time. The experience and the pedigree of the Lakers prevailed, and they swept the Rockets in three games. It was certainly disappointing to the Rockets and their fans, as the Lakers would go on to face the Bulls in the NBA Finals. Don Cheaney won the award for Coach of the Year that season, but after the team started 26-26 in the ‘91-’92 season, he was fired and replaced by his assistant, Rudy Tomjanovich.

1996 – Rockets beat the Lakers in Round 1

In the third playoff matchup between these two franchises, the roles had been reversed. Now, the Rockets were the defending champs. However, the Lakers, with a roster that was made up partly of young up and comers like Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel, mixed with some vets in their prime like Vlade Divac, Elden Campbell and Cedric Ceballos, topped off with a 36-year-old Magic Johnson, won 53 games in 1996 and secured the four seed in the West. Meanwhile the Rockets had won just 48 games in the regular season and finished in the fifth seed. The teams would split the first two games before the Rockets would return to Houston and win both games, ending the series with a 3-1 advantage.

This series featured three of the NBA’s top 75 players, but they were well past their prime at this point. Hakeem averaged a respectable 26.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Clyde Drexler averaged 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and remarkably, 36-year-old Magic Johnson, who had come out of retirement with 32 games to go in the regular season, averaged 15 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists, having his two best games in Houston. The Rockets would go on to lose in the next round to the Seattle Supersonics, who would go on to represent the West in the NBA Finals. Their respective losses in the 1996 playoffs would change each franchise forever. That very next summer, the Lakers would sign Shaquille O’Neal in free agency and make a draft day trade for a high school phenom from Lower Merion, Kobe Bryant. The Rockets would trade Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, and Mark Bryant to the Phoenix Suns for Charles Barkley.

1999 – Lakers beat the Rockets in Round 1

After a disappointing lockout shortened season the Rockets and Lakers both finished 31-19 with the Lakers wining the regular season series and earning the four-seed in the West and the Rockets earning the fifth-seed. The previous summer the Rockets had acquired Scottie Pippen in a sign-and-trade, in a last-ditch effort to try and earn Charles Barkley that ever elusive NBA Championship. Unfortunately, the Rockets ran into the team that was on the verge of becoming a dynasty. Shaq in his prime, versus an aging Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant a young blossoming star frequently guarded by a now disengaged Scottie Pippen (the feud between he and Barkley is now the stuff of legends), or a combination of two young rookies out of Rhode Island and Arizona respectively, Cuttino Mobley and Michael Dickerson.

Charles Barkley was the best Rockets player in the series averaging 23 points and 13 rebounds. With the Rockets on the brink of elimination in Game 3, he scored 30 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to go along with Scottie Pippen’s 37 points. Hakeem was just a shell of himself going up against Shaquille O’Neal, who he had dominated against in what seemed like just a short four years prior. The man now known as “Shaq Diesel” was just too much. He averaged 29.5 points 10.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 4.0 blocks per-game. None of those blocks more crucial than the final play of Game 1, when young Cuttino Mobley challenged Shaq at the rim for what would have been a game winning layup, only to have the shot swatted away. There’s no telling how that series could have gone with the momentum of stealing the first game on the road. However, as it turned out, Game 3 would be the only Rockets victory in the series. The Lakers would move on to be swept by the eventual NBA Champions, rookie Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.

2004 – Rockets return to the Playoffs for the first time in five years, lose to Lakers in Round 1

The Clutch City era had ended. The Rockets began to rebuild after a disastrous injury riddled 1999-2000 season. Hakeem left in free agency for Toronto and father time caught up with Charles Barkley and he was forced to retire after a season-ending knee injury. The team now belonged to a young backcourt composed of Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley. As exciting of a duo as they were, that excitement did not translate to winning until 2002 when the Rockets selected Yao Ming with the number one overall pick in the draft. Now the Rockets had something that had become the blueprint of the now 3-time champion Los Angeles Lakers. A dominant big man inside with Yao Ming and a dynamic scoring guard on the outside with Steve Francis.

After just missing the playoffs in Yao Ming’s rookie season with coach Rudy Tomjonovich having to retire for health reasons midseason, the Rockets were determined to break the playoff drought in the 2003-2004 season with new head coach Jeff Van Gundy. The plan came to fruition. The Rockets won 45 games and finished seventh in the Western Conference. What was their reward for making the playoffs for the 1st time in 5 years? To play the 3-time champion Lakers, who coming off of a loss to the Spurs in the WCF the year before, now featured a starting lineup of, Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, Rick Fox, Karl Malone, and Shaquille O’Neal.

It was a defensive battle of youth versus experience and experience won. The scoreboard hit triple digits just once in the Rockets 102-91 win in Game 3. Game 1, in very similar fashion to Game 1 in 1999 ended in a 1-point loss by the Rockets thanks to a clutch defensive stop by the Lakers. The Lakers went on to complete the “Gentleman’s sweep, and went all the way to the NBA Finals, where the Detroit Pistons returned the favor and beat the Lakers in five games. Once again, the respective playoff losses would change both franchises forever. The Lakers went on to trade Shaquille O’Neal and Gary Payton to the Miami Heat the following year, and the Houston Rockets traded Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Kelvin Cato for Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Reece Gaines, and Tyron Lue.

2009 – Rockets lose to the Lakers in Game 7 of the WCSF – “What If”

Folks… this one hurt to have to relive. As I’m writing I fight back tears as this might be the number one “What If..” moment in Houston Rockets history. Arguments can be made for 2018 against the Warriors, but at the beginning of the 2008-2009 season, the Rockets were as legitimate a championship contender as there has ever been. Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, Shane Battier, Luis Scola, Dikembe Mutombo and Rafer Alston, who had all been a part of a 22-game win streak the season prior, added one of the best two-way players in the NBA at the time in Ron Artest. Not to mention the very feisty young bench that featured Aaron Brooks, Luther Head, Carl Landry, Von Wafer, Chuck Hayes, Brian Cook and later after he was acquired in a trade for Rafer Alson… Kyle Lowry.

The team was stacked! But the injury bug hit early. Tracy McGrady who had carried the team in Yao’s absence the season before, only played 35 games. Dikembe Mutombo only played in nine regular season games before having a career ending injury in Game 2 of the first round series against the Portland Trailblazers. Ron Artest even played in less than 70 games that season. Even still, the Rockets managed to win 53 games that season thanks to the incredible depth built by GM Daryl Morey. Heading into the 2009 NBA Playoffs, the Rockets were the fifth-seed in the West, but their momentum headed into the postseason made them a team to look out for.

After beating the Trailblazers in the first round and getting into the second round for the first time since 1997, the Rockets were rewarded by getting to face the reigning Western Conference Champion Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, and Derek Fisher, to go along with their own young bench of Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Famar. The 65-win Lakers were the top seed in the West and favorites to get back to the finals. It was expected they would beat the Rockets in five or six games tops. The Rockets had other plans. This series was so insane I have to break it down a little more than the previous years’ matchups.

Game 1 – The Yao Comeback Game

The Rockets went toe-to-toe with the Lakers in Game 1 of the series. The starting lineup of Yao, Scola, Battier, Artest, and Brooks got the Rockets off to a great start. They led by three points at the half and in the second half were successfully keeping the Lakers at arm’s length thanks to great shooting from Aaron Brooks and Ron Artest. However, in the fourth quarter Yao Ming was the go-to guy. With five minutes to go in the game, Kobe banged knees with Yao during a drive to the basket that sent Yao Ming to the floor writhing in pain.

When head athletic trainer Keith Jones walked Yao into the tunnel toward the visiting locker rooms at the then Staples Center, Yao had 20 points and the Rockets led by six. The writing was seemingly on the wall, as the television camera followed Yao as he was limping back, he stopped, shook his head no, and began stretching. He was determined to go back in despite the athletic trainer seemingly wanting him to at minimum have the knee looked at. Yao Ming took his arms off the shoulders of his trainers, walked up to the wall and began lifting his leg back and forth to work out whatever pain he was feeling and he turned around and walked back to the Rockets bench. 54 seconds later he checked back in still with 20 points and the score still at 85-79. He finished the game with 28 points, 10 rebounds and the Rockets won the game 100-92.

Game 4 – The Aaron Brooks Game

After losing Game 2 and Game 3 on top of losing Yao Ming for the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his foot, the Rockets were expected to roll over and accept the inevitable. They did no such thing. On the strength of Aaron Brooks’ 34 points, Shane Battier’s five three-pointers, and 12 points off the bench by Kyle Lowry the Houston Rockets tied the series at two games apiece with a 99-87 win.

Game 6 – The Rockets refuse to go away

Game 4 was a fluke. Right? The Rockets answered that question quickly as they jumped out to an early 17-1 lead in the first quarter. Luis Scola scored 15 of his 24 points in the first quarter matching the entire Lakers squad’s offensive output. The Rockets had four players with 15 or more points, while only three Lakers scored in double-digits. Ron Artest’s ability as an emotional leader and relentless effort on the court shined in this game and really for the entire series.

Midnight Strikes in Game 7

The Rockets would get blown out 89-70 in the deciding game of the series as the Lakers flexed the muscle that would eventually lead them to becoming the 2009 NBA Champions. However, that Rockets team will forever go down in history as one of the toughest and grittiest teams in NBA playoff history and in my humble opinion, the single biggest “What If…” in Rockets history. What if Yao, T-Mac, Battier and Artest had played the entire season together? Would the Rockets have been a top three or maybe even a top two seed? What if Mutombo is available to fill in for Yao Ming Pau Gasol isn’t being guarded by the 6-foot 8-inch Chuck Hayes? We will never know, but I do know that this will also forever be one of my favorite Rockets teams off all-time.

2020- Rockets lose to the Lakers in Bubble Round 2

We are all in agreement that 2020 was weird in every aspect, but the NBA was something else entirely. The Rockets had played 64 games, and the Lakers had played 63 games before the season was suspended in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to the season’s suspension, the Lakers having just traded for Anthony Davis were the top team in the West, and the Rockets were in the six-seed. The Rockets had been as high as the four-seed, before making the decision to go all in on small ball and trading away Clint Capela at the trade deadline. Yet another move that made the season and the Rockets in general feel weird. The move was made mainly to accommodate Russel Westbrook, who the Rockets acquired by trading away Chris Paul and draft picks.

Westbrook never really made sense on a team built to shoot three-point shots, get layups, or free-throws. he played better once the paint was no longer clogged up by a big man, with P.J. Tucker playing at “Center” while mostly hanging out in the corner on offense waiting for a kick-out pass, but the team overall began to slide. In July of 2020 the NBA decided to invite 22 teams to Orlando to play inside what became known as “The Bubble.” 22 teams and their staffs would be quarantined at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex located inside Walt Disney World Resort and play in eight “seeding” games to determine the final playoff seeding. Both teams went 3-5. For the Lakers, it was dealing with rust in an awkward situation, with no fans in the building, playing in front of cardboard cutouts of fans and celebrities, that caused them to struggle.

The Rockets faced the same obstacles on top of Russel Wesbrook getting Covid right before getting to the bubble, injuring his quad right before the playoffs and coming back looking rusty. Russel Westbrook, never really known for efficiency or ball security was especially bad in the playoffs. The Rockets were able to barely squeeze by Westbrooks former team and former Houston Rocket Chirs Paul and the OKC thunder in the first round. By the time the Rockets and Lakers got together in the second round, most Rockets fans knew that the extremely weird 2020 season was about to end. After winning the first game 112-97, the series ended in five games with none of the games really being close. The Lakers would go on to defeat the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. For the Rockets, once again the loss changed their franchise, as the very next year Russel Westbrook, James Harden and all of the teams key role players were traded away and Daryl Morey resigned as GM. He was replaced by Raphael Stone and the Rockets rebuild began.

2026 – Tale of the Tape

One thing has always been consistent when it comes to Rockets versus Lakers in the playoffs, no matter the era, and that’s star power. This Saturday will be no exception… except… I’m sure the TDS faithful are very sad that Luka Doncic’s hamstring injury is going to keep him out of this series and Austin Reeves oblique injury will be keeping him out as well.

The Rockets are -600 favorites to win this series because of the fact that the Lakers are so banged up. We all know the narrative about Kevin Durant since he left the Golden State Warriors after horrible stints in Brooklyn and Phoenix. This is a legacy moment for Kevin Durant, from fans’ and the media’s perspectives alike. However, I think we all know that from Kevin Durant’s perspective, he likely feels no pressure and just wants to hoop and win. Is that a good thing? Well, we are going to find out soon enough. The Lakers have been playing well even with the injury issues and LeBron James is still a force to be reckoned with.

Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson were both impressive at times versus the Warriors last postseason in their playoff debuts. They will need to take that next step if the Rockets are going to move on in this series. All eyes will be on how the Rockets get into their offensive sets without a true point guard on the floor, something they have been trying to figure out all season. Aaron Holiday may end up being very important in this series from that regard.

Ultimately, this is a series between two extremely proud and storied franchises, and it’s this humble writer’s opinion that it’s the Rockets turn to come out on top. Game 1 will tip off Saturday April 18th at 7:30 PM CST from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. You know where to come for all the coverage you need from the only website that cares as much as you do. See you all this weekend TDS faithful! Go Rockets!

Watch Steph Curry hilariously ask fan courtside if his clutch shot went in originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steph Curry needed some assistance from the crowd after a clutch shot in Wednesday’s 126-121 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome.

With the game tied 117 apiece with 55 seconds remaining in the game, Curry came off a screen from forward Draymond Green and heaved up a 3-point shot from the left wing that went in after his momentum took him into the courtside crowd.

Curry, with his back to the basket, seemingly asked the fans he was face-to-face with if his shot went in, as if he already did not know from the crowd’s reaction.

It’s safe to say the Warriors sharpshooter, who famously has mastered the look-away shot over the course of his career, has a pretty good idea of when his shots fall.

But just to be sure, he wanted a little reassurance from the fans before he broke out into a fiery celebration.

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INDEPENDENCE — Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has been asked how James Harden has helped this team since his arrival in early February. He’s spoken at length about how good a passer he is and how skilled he is as a scorer. But there’s one thing that sticks out above all of that — his knowledge of the game and his willingness to pass that on to others on the team. Both are byproducts of his obsession with the game.

“There are certain players in this league that they love it more,” Atkinson said of Harden. “They’re obsessed. There’s love and obsession.”

Harden falls into that second category.

“There’s very few of them to that degree,” Atkinson said. “How obsessed they are with the game, the nuances of the game, it’s different.”

Those nuances show through most when Harden is running the pick-and-roll. He’s an expert at that action and has developed seemingly instant chemistry with nearly every big he’s come in contact with throughout his 17-year career with six different franchises. That one exception was Evan Mobley — at least in their first few weeks together.

Mobley’s game didn’t fit with Harden’s right off the bat. Mobley isn’t known for being a hard screen setter and roller. Instead, he’s typically done most of his damage attacking in space off the dribble, cutting, and attacking after slipping screens.

Earlier this season, Dallas Mavericks head coach and legendary point guard Jason Kidd said that it took him half a season before he felt comfortable with a new big. The Cavs didn’t have that much time to make things work with Harden since they traded for him four months into the season. They had to find a different way to develop their on-court chemistry without game reps. That meant they had to do most of their work in the film room.

“Us going through film, me learning him, him learning me, and where he likes to pass the ball. That was a big thing at the start,” Mobley said. “Once I kind of figured that out, and how he likes to come off [screens], and what his cues are. Sometimes you can’t really say anything. You just kind of have to look. Once I learned that, it got very easy.”

Mobley describes Harden as being “light-hearted” in these film sessions.“It’s just info. He just tells me what he sees. I tell him what I see, and the coaches chime in. It’s just a back-and-forth conversation.”

Harden’s impact breaking down film is one of the things that the Cavs pointed out immediately after the trade.

“James is a teacher,” Atkinson said. “He always has a slant and a new idea on how we can do things better. He’s not afraid. … He’s very bold — extroverted. Talking with guys, it’s a huge help.”

Harden and Mobley’s two-man game has continued to grow throughout the season. Harden has done a good job of delivering passes to Mobley above the waste where he can catch the ball in stride. In turn, Mobley has been more decisive in rolling to the basket and exploiting mismatches.

That development didn’t happen overnight. It was through trial and error and having an open line of communication, which Harden believes is the biggest reason why they were able to get onto the same page.

“Figure out what works, whether it’s the pick-and-roll, whether it’s just me throwing him the ball in the post,” Harden said. “Whether I have the mismatch or I feel like he has the mismatch. It’s a split-second decision. If it doesn’t go right, we talk about it and then move on.”

This has carried over to more than just the pick-and-roll. The Cavs as a team have thrived when both share the floor. Cleveland has outscored their opponent by 5.5 points per 100 possessions (77th percentile for net rating) with a 119.5 offensive rating (80th percentile) and a 114 defensive rating (68th percentile).

If the Cavs are going to go far in the playoffs, it will be because their best players are on the same page and the team is at its best when they share the floor. To do that, Mobley and Harden have to be in sync, and they’ve made an effort to do so through their communication.

“I’m just trying to learn from him,” Mobley said. “Learn the most I can and figure out how he’s become who he is. He does a great job of explaining and spreading his knowledge to us. I’m just soaking it all in.”