Three Things I Noticed in the First Round: Can't Stop Me Now

Hit the jump for the latest edition of Three Things I Noticed, starring James Harden, Pascal Siakam, and the Cavaliers offense.

James Harden, conducting

Harden "only" finished with 9 assists in the Clippers' Game 3 beatdown of the Nuggets, but he was in full control of the proceedings — especially in pick-and-roll situations. He was manipulating defenders to and fro and using their reactions against them all night long.

Just watch this mastery of space and angles on display as he repeatedly finds teammates in the right spot at the right time. (I had to split it into two videos because the file is too big for Ghost to fit, for some reason, even though it was "only" about a minute long.)

When you zoom all the way out, the performance was remarkable.

According to Second Spectrum, the Clippers scored 1.563 points per possession on trips that included Harden pick and rolls, of which he ran 43.

There have been 482 instances of a player running at least 40 pick and rolls in a playoff game during the player-tracking era, which started back in the 2013-14 season. Among those 482, the 1.563 points per trip generate by Harden in Game 3 ranked eighth-best. It was the second-best Harden game among the 37 in that sample, behind only his Game 6 destruction of the Raptors back in 2022 — a game where he racked up 22 points and 15 assists.

Pascal Siakam, stop-and-starting

Caitlin Cooper has called Siakam's game "staccato brilliance," and that descriptor is quite apt. The stop-and-start, herky-jerky motion of his game has been too much for the Bucks to deal with through the first two games of this series.

Through two games, Siakam has 49 points on 31 shots. His 15 isolations have yielded 1.154 points per possession when the play is finished by him or a teammate one pass away — an elite mark. His three direct post-ups have yielded five more points. His and the rest of the Pacers offense's seeming unstoppability is why this series looks like it might be over rather quickly.

The Cavs, making the extra pass

Not much to say here. I just love when teams are willing to make the extra pass to turn a good shot into a great one. And the Cavs are among the most willing teams to do so. Shout out Kenny Atkinson.