For James Harden, Donovan Mitchell and Cavs, the introduction is over

James Harden and Donovan Mitchell know how to score. They’ve each been doing it for a very long time.

What remains to be seen is whether the two can become something more than a pair of very talented guards sharing the same backcourt. Because at this point, that’s probably what the Cavaliers need to become legitimate championship material.

Harden arrived at the trade deadline last season in the deal that sent Darius Garland to the Clippers, giving him just 26 regular-season games to figure things out alongside Mitchell.

There were good moments, and the Cavs ultimately reached the Eastern Conference finals. But that was also very much an introduction. This season won’t be.

Harden is 37. Mitchell is firmly in his prime. Both received new contracts this summer, with Harden agreeing to return for three years and $97 million.

So the Cavs aren’t paying Harden to merely help them remain among the better teams in the East. They’re paying him because they believe he and Mitchell can help take them where neither has gone before.

There are questions, of course. Both guards are at their best with the ball. Harden isn’t the same scorer he was in Houston, though he’s still among the league’s better facilitators. Mitchell has shown he can carry Cleveland’s offense for long stretches, but the Cavaliers don’t want him to have to do it alone in May.

They shouldn’t have to. Evan Mobley remains perhaps the biggest piece of the Cavs’ championship equation, while the addition of Peyton Watson gives them more size, athleticism and defense on the wing.

Still, when it’s a two-point game with three minutes left in the fourth quarter of a playoff game, chances are the ball will be in the hands of Harden or Mitchell.

Last season, they were learning each other. This season, that’s no longer much of an excuse.