The Cleveland Cavaliers have James Harden to blame for their fourth quarter collapse against the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
With less than eight minutes remaining in regulation, the Cavaliers were up 22 points.
But then, Knicks head coach Mike Brown remembered his time as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors. After the game, Brown admitted that he targeted Harden intentionally.
“When I was in Golden State and we played Houston, we counted James Harden’s dribbles. We told our guys he’s dribbling close to 1000 times a game,” Brown explained. “Keep picking him up full court and making him dribble. At the end of the game, it would wear him down.”
Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters postgame that Harden has been one of the team’s best defenders this postseason and that the team intends on sticking with him.
Gulp.
It’s hard to blame a traffic cone for being a traffic cone. Instead, blame the guy that put the traffic cone in the middle of the road and expected it to be anything other than a traffic cone.
At 36, Harden simply couldn’t keep up with Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson. New York consistently forced Harden into uncomfortable switches during the final seven minutes of regulation and overtime, where the Cavaliers only scored three points.
Game 1 was also the sixth game of this postseason where Harden finished with more turnovers (six) than field goals made (five). He only had three assists, was 5-of-18 from the field and made just one of his eight three-point attempts.
Once again, Cleveland’s decision to acquire Harden at the deadline has come into view. At some point, when somebody spends 17 years telling you who they are, you should probably listen to them. Harden has never been the type of player to rise to the occasion in the playoffs.
When officiating tightens their whistle, Harden has a more difficult time foulbaiting, which is the main element of his game at this stage. When he’s passing the ball and unlocking Cleveland’s bigs, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, he’s most effective. However, Harden’s turnover problem and affinity for isolation basketball was on full display down the stretch, as Cavaliers superstar Donovan Mitchell shot the basketball just once during the team’s entire collapse.
Atkinson has to approach this series differently. He can’t blindly trust Harden, or the Knicks will easily handle business against the Cavaliers. This is a much different series than the Detroit Pistons or Toronto Raptors.
Harden was a complete liability on both sides of the court and mysteriously remained in the game as Atkinson refused to call a timeout during New York’s 18-1 run.
It was a disservice to the entire team to keep him in the game.
