Commentary: Cavaliers need Donovan Mitchell, James Harden to be best players on court in Game 7

In hindsight, they seemed to have been strategically acquired as a package deal, framed with determined visions of upcoming grandeur which, to this day, remain as incandescent as ever. For that, we can thank the loquacious, heavily traveled point guard James Harden, who freely announces who he is whenever he arrives at his next hoops outpost. Typically, one of the first questions Harden gets asked when he dribbles into the gym of his latest team is what kind of system he prefers to run. Harden's frequent response: "I am the system." Technically, so is Donovan Mitchell. That's right, the Cavs have two future Hall of Fame point guards playing together. Well, maybe not technically, but traditionally. It's Harden's and Mitchell's team, and no other point guards need apply. Cleveland's two five-star point guards are the big dogs on Coach Kenny Atkinson's team. That kind of an arrangement can sometimes lead to a team wandering onto the path of least resistance. Usually, that only happens when a team is blessed with two point guards, both of whom know what needs to be done, when it needs to be done and — when that time comes — this is the important part: Who will do the doing? Harden and Mitchell have the tools, the intellect and the ego — that's right, believe it or not, most point guards have egos — that are needed to run an offense and, if needed, to take over in order to keep the car on the road. It's the leadership genes that are necessary to direct an NBA team, especially one that has two point guards, which on some teams might be one too many. This is still the first season of the Cavs' All-Star point guard-palooza. Harden and Mitchell have played well in their first fling at running this particular Cavs team which, if you have been paying attention, needs as much guidance as possible. Everything considered, the Cavs, and their two future Hall of Fame point guards, have held their own, but so has Toronto. It's not an easy job sharing a difficult job, especially when the stakes are as high as facing the Cavs and Raptors in Game 7 today at Rocket Arena. Harden and Mitchell have their hands full, but so do the Raptors. The Cavs have something to deal with the Raptors don't. In Friday night's excruciating Game 6, the Cavs and Raptors took turns playing poorly, but the Raptors turned out to be luckier than the Cavs. How many times in NBA playoff history has a team lost a game when the winning shot sailed 50 feet into the air above the basket, then came crashing back down and through the goal in the last two seconds? I don't know about you, but my guess is zero. Who makes this stuff up? In order to win Game 7, playing on their home court, no less, the Cavs can't count on a basketball tearing through the hoop from parts unknown to lead the way for a Cleveland victory. What needs to happen for the Cavs in Game 7 is that they play their best game of the series, if not the season. For that to happen, Harden and Mitchell are going to have to play their best games of the series, too, and then play a little harder and better than that. For that to happen, the Cavs' two superpowers will have to outplay the younger, more physical Raptors. That may be a problem since the Cavs this season haven't exactly resembled roving bands of rogue muscle. In the meantime, Game 7 counts for a lot, and Game 7 at home is even bigger still for a Cavs team that has struggled to exhibit a "we are pretty sure we can win a Game 7 at home aura." If the opposite is true. If the Cavs can't win a Game 7, at home, after giving away Game 6 in Toronto, then some hard questions are going to have to be asked. Harden and Mitchell probably emptied their tanks in Game 6. That could be a problem since the Cavs' stars need to play like stars, and both of them might be out of gas. In Game 6 Harden played 44 minutes and Mitchell 41. Harden scored 16 points and Mitchell — who at times in Game 6 didn't look like he wanted the ball — had 24 points. Harden was 1-for-4 on 3-point shots, while Mitchell was 2-for-10. Harden had nine rebounds, Mitchell five. Harden had nine assists, Mitchell two. Harden had four turnovers and Mitchell three. In Game 7 Mitchell and Harden will be the two best players on the court. If they are not, the Cavs are in trouble. Contact Jim Ingraham at jingraham4@gmail.com.