James Harden Thinks the Cavaliers Lost Despite Being the ‘Better Team’

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ season came to a frustrating end Monday night as the New York Knicks completed a four-game sweep in the Eastern Conference Finals with a 130-93 win. James Harden finished with 12 points on just 2-of-8 shooting, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range, while Cleveland once again struggled offensively against New York’s defense.

Following the season-ending loss, Harden addressed everything from the Cavaliers’ shooting woes and playoff fatigue to his confidence in Donovan Mitchell, his belief Cleveland was still the better team and why he fully expects to return next season.

Does he think the Knicks are better than the Cavaliers?

Harden: “I genuinely do feel like we are the better team. We didn’t have a fair chance honestly. We didn’t play not one quarter of just Cavs basketball offensively.”

What do you feel like this series ultimately came down to?

Harden: “I’ll say shot making. I think that they made shots, some open and some just tough shots. And I don’t think we made really any.”

Was fatigue a factor?

Harden: “At a point, you have concerns, but you have no choice. You got to go out there and figure it out and fight.”

How are you processing this season considering Cleveland hadn’t been this far without LeBron in decades?

Harden: “I think we accomplished a lot. Still short of the goal, but I think we accomplished getting to the conference finals. Now there’s another level to get to, maybe two levels to get to.”

Do you hope this group stays together?

Harden: “We’re a very talented group. We don’t have the experience with playing amongst each other in postseason basketball. Literally, it’s our first time going through whatever we were going to go through.”

How would you assess your own playoff run?

Harden: “I think I did pretty good. I don’t grade myself off shot making. Coming here was just a piece to fulfill whatever needs to be fulfilled.”

What have you learned about Kenny Atkinson?

Harden: “Ultimate players coach. He understands his team. For Kenny, he did an unbelievable job of getting me acclimated as fast as possible.”

Did this season teach you anything new about yourself?

Harden: “Coming here was an opportunity to adjust and figure out how to play with all these other guys on the team that already had a system in place.”

Do you want to remain with the Cavaliers next season?

Harden: “Yes. One hundred percent definitely both. Definitely want to be here.”

How confident are you in Donovan Mitchell as a championship-level star?

Harden: “Very, very confident. This team is not where we’re at without him.”

How do you handle the narrative around playoff losses and never winning a title?

Harden: “Still here, right? Still alive. Still going. I was in the gym at 8:30 this morning putting up shots. Didn’t make a three today, but it’s a part of life.”

What is your focus entering next season?

Harden: “Preparing myself and my body to come back for year 18 and figure out what best fits this team and how I need to play.”