James Harden’s performances came under scrutiny as the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Donovan Mitchell has come to his teammate’s defense, comparing his struggles to those of Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
Donovan Mitchell Defends James Harden Over Playoff Struggles
Regarded as one of the greatest scorers in NBA history, Harden remains among the best players yet to win an NBA championship. The 11-time NBA All-Star has come close on multiple occasions while playing for several talented teams, only to fall narrowly short.
Mitchell has now come to the defense of his teammate, who has reached the playoffs in all 17 seasons of his NBA career but has made the NBA Finals just once.
“I’ve watched [Harden] for nine years. I’ve watched it and to see it firsthand, the work ethic, the passion, the IQ, the leadership. The man just gets a bad rep. And I talked about how he changed the game, but he did,” Mitchell said in an interview with Andscape.
Mitchell also compared Harden’s struggles with those experienced by LeBron and Jordan on the big stage. LeBron and the Miami Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals despite being the favorites, while Jordan did not make the Finals till 1991.
“Has he had some rough moments? I’m sure we all have. LeBron [James] is one of the greatest players ever. We don’t really speak on the [Dallas] Mavericks [NBA] Final [in 2011] when he struggled [with the Miami Heat]. We don’t speak on [Michael] Jordan taking eight years to get to the Finals. We speak on the wins,” he added.
Cleveland acquired Harden in a trade from the Los Angeles Clippers in February to contend for the NBA title. However, the 36-year-old was far from his best during the playoffs, averaging just 19.2 points per game on 41.0% shooting (29.9% from three). His assist numbers were also down from 8.0 per game during the regular season to 5.5 per game during the playoffs.
Harden did deliver some strong performances to lead the Cavaliers past the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals. But he wasn’t able to make a similar impact against the Knicks.
The 6-foot-5 guard holds a $42.3 million player option for the upcoming season. However, he could decline that option and test the free agency waters or sign a new multi-year deal with the Cavaliers.
