James Harden is taking some major heat after the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept on Monday.
The New York Knicks eliminated Cleveland in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, 130-93, at Rocket Arena. The entire Cavs roster was outplayed across four games. However, Harden drew the loudest criticism online for a lackluster series outing.
He finished Game 4 with 12 points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field. He went 0-of-6 from three-point range, grabbed four rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes.
Across four games, Harden averaged 16.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He shot just 38.9% from the field and 17.9% from three. He turned the ball over at an alarming rate, committing 17 turnovers across the series.
Contrary to the backlash, Harden felt his performance throughout the playoffs stood out.
"I think I did pretty good," he told reporters after Game 4. "... Defensively, been extremely solid, and offensively, getting guys shots and fitting into a system that was already in place."
Cleveland traded Darius Garland to the Los Angeles Clippers for Harden at the trade deadline. The move aimed to ease the offensive load on Donovan Mitchell.
It produced results in spurts during the regular season. The defensive side of the ball was a different story. Knicks players targeted Harden repeatedly, particularly down the stretch. Brunson ran multiple isolation plays at him, exploiting the mismatch at critical moments.
Moreover, fans were not happy with Harden's nonchalant assessment. They made it known on X.
"You grade yourself off what? Creating opportunity for others? If so How many assists did you have? Defense? How many steals? Blocks? Rebounds? Offense? How many points did you have when it mattered? You're washed and should retire. Do us a favor. Thanks," one fan wrote.
"Defensively, been extremely solid. Oh, somebody needs a reality check. He's a talking cone on d ffs," another fan responded.
"Ahah, the guy is like a bag you need to carry whole vacation without opening it once," a third fan posted.
"He is up for an extension so..yeah...he is gonna gaslight hard until that happens. Imagine giving him more years.....league is moronic," one user added.
"I like Harden.. what else should he say here? It sucks he never brings it in the playoffs tho," another wrote.
"Dude has literally ZERO leadership skills. Great player but extremely poor self-awareness," a fan added.
