James Harden is not exactly known for sympathy, and he proved that point again this week. After the Knicks completed a four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, Harden offered up a take on the loss that is going to live in screenshot form for a while.
The Clippers guard, whose own season ended weeks earlier, basically dismissed the Cavaliers as a roster that was never built for this moment. Harden suggested that Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland are too small to anchor a championship backcourt and that Cleveland’s coaching staff did not adjust to what New York was doing on either end of the floor.
That is a tough quote to argue with on the surface. The Cavs were swept. They were outscored by an average of more than 15 points per game. They were embarrassed in front of a national audience. But coming from Harden, the comments hit different because his Clippers were not exactly a juggernaut in the playoffs either.
The Pot, the Kettle, and the Beard
Harden has been on the wrong side of postseason disappointment more times than almost any active player. He has been bounced in the first round. He has been bounced in the second round. He has been bounced in the conference finals. He has had his own playoff legacy questioned by every analyst with a microphone. So watching him pile on the Cavaliers is at least mildly ironic.
That said, he is not wrong about the structural problem in Cleveland. The Mitchell and Garland backcourt has now flamed out in two straight playoff runs. The frontcourt of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen is not generating enough offensive firepower to compensate. The Cavaliers have a roster that is good enough to win 50 games and not good enough to win a series against a real contender.
This is the conversation Cleveland fans have been having for months. Hearing it from Harden just made it national.
What Happens Next in Cleveland
The Cavs have decisions to make. Donovan Mitchell is signed long-term. Garland is still on a max contract. Mobley is about to start a massive extension. Allen is the most movable piece and the one most likely to be on the trade block this summer. President Koby Altman is going to be in a difficult position when he sits down with ownership to discuss next steps.
The easy answer is to blame the coach. Kenny Atkinson took criticism after Game 4 for his rotations and his unwillingness to bench struggling players in critical moments. But the bigger answer is that the roster construction in Cleveland needs to change.
James Harden saying it out loud just put the conversation on a louder speaker. The Cavaliers cannot run this back. Everyone with a clear view of the situation knows it. Now the front office has to act on it.
Expect a noisy summer in Cleveland. The Knicks made sure of that.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
