James Harden Gives Honest Take on Cavs vs Cade Cunningham

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DENVER, COLORADO - FEBRUARY 9: James Harden #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second quarter of the game at Ball Arena on February 9, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Chris Swann/Clarkson Creative/Getty Images)

The Cleveland Cavaliers paid a visit to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night for Game 1 of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.

Although the Pistons had a disappointing showing against the Orlando Magic in round one early on, they wanted to get a quicker start against a higher-seeded team in the Cavs.

On one hand, the Cavaliers did a fine job of holding the Pistons’ star Cade Cunningham in check. While Cunningham led Detroit in scoring, he had to grind it out with 6-19 shooting from the field. Nine of Cunningham’s 23 points came from the free-throw line.

That’s about the only silver lining the Cavaliers have on the night.

James Harden Addresses Cavaliers Defense vs Cade Cunningham

“It was pretty good–can be a lot better,” Harden told reporters.

“We know who Cade is and what he’s capable of, and what he’s been doing. It’s not just one person’s job, it’s all of our jobs to make it difficult on him. Not just him, but his entire team. But we know he is the head of the snake, so we got to be better in figuring out ways we can make it more difficult for him and more difficult for Duncan Robinson, who had five threes.”

The Pistons got a lift from Robinson, who knocked down 5-8 shots from three.

Harden’s former teammate in Philly, Tobias Harris, also had a strong scoring outing, as he shot 6-14 from the field to score 20 points.

“We still gave ourselves a chance with all of the things we didn’t do right, I don’t feel like we played well at all tonight, but we gave ourselves a chance, which is a positive,” Harden added. “Unfortunately, in the playoffs, you don’t really get to love. It’s you win or you lose, you don’t really get war points for losing and not playing well. Different outcome for Game 2.”

Following the 111-101 loss, the Cavaliers and the Pistons will meet for Game 2 on Thursday night, May 7. The game will take place in Detroit, Michigan, before the series goes to Cleveland, Ohio, for Game 3 on Saturday, May 9.