If you’re relying on 36 year old James harden to be your best player and play defense, that’s on you dawg (Kenny)

He’s been trying to be the 3rd option for 5 years now and keeps being forced into being more important

Right. That’s what all time offensive players are supposed to do. Atkinson didn’t call the timeout and the rest of the Cavs didn’t pick up the slack.

Draymond had a great response about it. He said “do you think that I would let Steph get targeted like that? His job is to score. That’s not his role. Our job is to protect him. We’re not giving up the switch.” Mobley the perennial DPOY candidate did none of that. The rest of the Cavs also weren’t going through the screens and denying the switch.

I mean if Atkinson makes any adjustment, then Cavs hang on and take game 1.

Idiotic coaching broke the team. You never know how a series can go

Kenny disasterclass

The idea is that he probably shouldn’t be shouldering the load of a 1st option level player at his age when he’s playing next to Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.

The issue is that he had to for large chunks of the first series specifically and some of the Detroit series as well because Mitchell completely shit his pants the majority of the time in both of those series’

the “elite defensive big” where the Jazz had a better DRTG without him on the court for his entire Jazz playoff career? the guy who the Clippers coaches said they hunted in playoffs?

Conley was literlly injured and Don carried them to series wins. when Don missed even 1 game, Conley and Gobert were losing to the 8th seed Grizzlies lol

He played half a season for them and they were one series away from the Finals. They hadn’t been that far in 8 years.

So?

This doesn’t mean James Harden was the reason for it.

Who is the “stable PG with great defender” for Donovan? Where do they grow on trees? Jrue Holiday-Jrue was running out of gas in Milwaukee, Boston, and now Portland. He’s not an elite defender anymore. Who else fits your criteria?

I don’t think you are understanding me here.

Signing James Harden to a 3 year close to max contract means two things

1. They will never win a chip, nor get close. They essentially close the window on DM’s time there

2. It completely destroys every roster building move they can partake in that three years. It completely nukes any option for them to get key role players.

Donovan had an elite defensive big in Rudy, and a traditional PG in Mike Conley in Utah, and he was still getting sent home.

Sure! but so?

I don’t think you are really understanding what’s going on.

DM is a flawed player. I agree. He’s an undersized two guard who can’t play as a primary ball handler.

The problem is Cavs maxed him till 2031 and so has to build around him.

He has been trying to be a third option for years, and he keeps getting thrust back into the spotlight.

God this is an awful fucking take.

Such an annoying take as well.

Just because a player takes less shots does not mean he’s taking a “third option role” especially when the ball is almost entirely in his hands, and he runs the game.

That’s the fucking problem.

James harden wants to be “third option” without understanding what that entails.

He’s purely on the ball player, without doing anything off it. He’s atrocious defensively, and even his on ball abilities are inconsistent as hell.

James harden turned the ball over insane amounts. This is not conducive to winning.

Cavs cannot win with him at the PG. anyone with eyes could see that if you watched him play last couple playoff runs. He’s way too deeply flawed.

Do you know how fucking insane it is to average essentially the same amount of assists and TOV in a playoff run for a player who ONLY plays on ball? It’s so deeply inefficient it’s shocking.

yall realize the Knicks were hunting Harden on switches right? lmao

it doesn’t matter who the initial defender is

he wasn’t… he was shooting tour dates most of the series

Strus held his own well enough (which makes today’s trade a little unfortunate), but yes Mitchell couldn’t guard him either

My main beef is that this is his reputation. Why after all his failures elsewhere would he suddenly win a championship in Cleveland?

What I watched was the Knicks constantly screen Strus/Schroder off of Brunson so he could be guarded by Harden

It’s not great but it’s not horrible either.

Not like Denver or Golden State levels of bad, for example.

Yeah the Cavs signed him basically as soon as Bron went to Philly

Do they just focus their ire on JA and Mitchell?

I feel like Mobley definitely gets more hate (rightfully so) than JA.

But there are a lot of weirdo Mobley stans that overblow a good Mobley game on the Cavs sub too.

Idk I watch the games and they love him like they love all the Cavs. I don’t really get any Cavs news beyond the Cavs and NBA sub. Cavs sub mostly thinks he’s great but cmon $50m a year to look lost almost every time he catches the ball? I’ll never buy it.

Edit: lots of numbers guys come out of the woodwork any time there’s Mobley criticism. Eye test goes further personally and he fails it’s 85% of the time.