James Harden’s Game 7 legacy on the line as Cavaliers take on Pistons

The NBA takes a lot of flak for having meaningless games, and I can definitely understand that, watching on a random Wednesday in January. However, the playoffs have always delivered on viewership and rewarded us for putting up with lousy regular season games.

This will be the fourth Game 7 of the playoffs. Three series were sweeps and the other three lasted six games. This shows competitive hoops. Now, how to bet on this Eastern Conference Game 7?

The Cleveland Cavaliers blew it. After not winning a road game in the entire playoffs, they won Game 5 in surprising fashion. It looked like they were going to win in six games. After all, they hadn’t lost a single home game in the playoffs.

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Instead, Detroit came out and blitzed the Cavs, never giving them a chance to gain a foothold. They lost in ugly fashion and now have to find a way to win a game on the road.

It’s not just the Cavs’ fate 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. Hardening is. Unfortunately, Harden has struggled in 7 games. He is averaging 19.1 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. It’s not great, but looking at his shooting percentages, he’s at 35.3% and 22.2% in those games. He’s actually 4-4 overall in games, but in his last three games he’s scored a total of 34 points in 113 minutes.

The Detroit Pistons seem to like playing with their backs to 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 during the second half of Game 4 of the second round NBA playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on May 11, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)

Cade Cunningham continues to live up to the team’s expectations and he finally got some help in Game 6 from Jalen Duren. This has never been an easy series for Duren, but it feels like he’s taking longer to mature than the others. He’s definitely improved this year, but the consistency they need just isn’t there yet.

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Now that the team is heading home, they’ll 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 away a lot of dimension from what Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are doing for the Cavs. That’s not all, though, as the Pistons won the rebounding battle in both losses in Cleveland.

I don’t think this is a wild game for the Pistons. Mitchell and Cunningham will likely cancel each other out in scoring. Harden needs to establish himself as the third-best player on the court. I haven’t seen him do that yet in the playoffs.

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

This is the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both clubs, so it’s not like either will be caught off guard as to what it entails.

If I look at things objectively, I think the Cavs have the best players. However, the Pistons have looked significantly better this season, and certainly in the playoffs as a whole. Both are prone to glitches and slips. The Cavs shouldn’t be because they are a veteran team.

This game, however, must be won by Cleveland. There’s too much riding on the franchise and the guys’ legacy for them to not prepare properly. This may be weak analysis, but I’m taking the Cavs with the points and I 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.

For more news and sports betting, follow David on X/Twitter: @futurprez2024