Swapping out Darius Garland for James Harden as the backcourt partner for Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland adds a ton more reliability, consistency, and upside to this season. However, one major issue remains persistent all the same despite the upgrade. That would be the defense.
Mitchell and Harden, much like Mitchell and Garland, are both subpar defenders. For the current star duo in the Cleveland Cavaliers' backcourt, neither of them are quite as bad as the worst version of their reputation would suggest. Even so, there are clear defensive limitations with the pairing.
One of the biggest tasks Kenny Atkinson will be forced to navigate in the second half of the season is zeroing in on a rotation that helps hide those flaws. That could mean splitting up Mitchell and Harden a fair bit to help mask those concerns.
Cavaliers defense will be forced to navigate around Mitchll and Harden
Cleveland's defense on the whole of 2025-26 has been solid, but not quite elite. At the All-Star break, the Cavs rank 12th in the NBA when it comes to defensive rating with a mark of 113.3. There's reason to believe that will go up.
For one, they got rid of two subpar defenders on the perimeter in Garland and De'Andre Hunter. Two of the three players who arrived in return are fairly reliable on that end, with Harden being the exception (as already mentioned).
The Cavaliers are also waiting on Evan Mobley to return to the lineup. Once the former Defensive Player of the Year is back in wine and gold, the defense should get an immediate boost.
Atkinson's role in ensuring his defense does trend in the right direction comes in the form of not overusing his backcourt pairing together and allowing those complementary players to support them on that end. Otherwise, the gameplan will always be to outscore the other team.
To be fair, the Cavaliers could probably manage as much, to some degree. In the very early sample size of Harden's time in Cleveland, the Cavs are posting an offensive rating of 126.7. That would be the second-best mark in the NBA during that three-game sample size.
The defensive rating, meanwhile, ranks 17th with a figure of 116.0. Again, this is still an incredibly small case study, and imperfect due to Mobley's absence, but the Cavs will undoubtedly want more balance on both sides of the ball.
Keon Ellis, Sam Merrill, and others can all provide a defensive boost when Atkinson goes away from his starting duo in the backcourt. The Cavaliers coach must identify how to thread the needle with all the options available to him.