James Harden's Game 7 legacy on the line as Cavaliers face Pistons

The NBA gets a lot of flack for having meaningless games, and I can definitely understand that, watching it on a random Wednesday in January. However, the playoffs have pleased viewers time and time again and rewarded us for putting up with crappy regular season games.

This will be the fourth Game 7 of the playoffs. Three series have been swept and the other three have been six games. That shows competitive obstacles. Now, how do we bet this Game 7 of the Eastern Conference?

The Cleveland Cavaliers blew it. After not winning a road game all postseason, they took Game 5 in surprising fashion. It seemed like they were going to win in six games. After all, they hadn't lost a home game in the postseason.

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Instead, Detroit came out and steamrolled the Cavs, never giving them a chance to regain their footing. They lost in ugly fashion and now have to find a way to win a road game.

It's not just the fate of the Cavs that depends on this game. It is also the legacy of James Harden and, to a lesser extent, Donovan Mitchell.

We know Mitchell is a very good player, but he is not considered one of the best players of all time. Harden is. Unfortunately, Harden has struggled in Game 7. He has averaged 19.1 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. That's not terrible, but if we look at his shooting percentages, it's at 35.3% and 22.2% in those games. He's actually 4-4 overall in games, but in his last three, he's scored a combined 34 points in 113 minutes.

The Detroit Pistons seem to like to play with their backs against the wall. They're a brave team, so I guess it makes sense.

Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons reacts after allowing a pass to go out of bounds in the second half of Game 4 of the NBA second-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on May 11, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)

Cade Cunningham continues to deliver for the team and finally got help from Jalen Duren in Game 6. This was never going to be an easy series for Duren, but it seems like he's taking longer to mature than others. He definitely improved this year, but the consistency they need from him isn't there yet.

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Now that the team returns home they will need Duren to be a beast on the glass. If he can keep the Pistons in the rebounding battle, they should win this game easily. They won Game 6 by just three rebounds, but that takes a huge dimension away from what Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley do for the Cavs. But that's not all, as the Pistons won the rebounding battle in both losses in Cleveland.

I don't see this being a runaway game for the Pistons. Mitchell and Cunningham will likely cancel each other out with scoring. Harden needs to establish himself as the third-best player on the floor. I haven't seen him do that in the postseason yet.

Cleveland Cavaliers stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden speak during Game 2 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio. (David Dermer/Image Images)

This is the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both clubs, so it's not like either of them are surprised by what this entails.

If I look at it objectively, I think the Cavs have the best players. However, the Pistons have looked significantly better this season, and definitely in the playoffs overall. Both are prone to problems and slips. The Cavs shouldn't be since they are a veteran team.

However, this game has to be won by Cleveland. There is too much at stake in the franchise and the guys' legacy to not adequately prepare for it. Maybe it's a weak analysis, but I'll take the Cavs with the points and think they win outright. I expect a monster game from Mitchell and Harden should get 10+ assists.

Either way, whoever wins will lose to the New York Knicks.

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