Donovan Mitchell Backs James Harden After Cavs' Loss to Knicks, Cites LeBron James, Michael Jordan

After getting swept by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals, Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell went to bat for teammate James Harden on Friday.

Speaking to Marc J. Spears of ESPN's Andscape, Mitchell credited Harden with playing a big role in helping the Cavs reach the ECF for the first time since 2018.

"We don't get to the conference finals without James Harden," Mitchell said. "We tried. I don't know how else to put it, but we live in a world where it's just so much easier to knock and hate. And pretty sure they're going to hate me. They're going to hate [Evan Mobley], they hate [head coach] Kenny [Atkinson]. They're going to hate everybody, right? So, this right here isn't me saying, 'Don't hate us.'"

Mitchell continued to praise Harden while acknowledging some of his struggles and comparing them to some of the NBA's all-time greats.

"I've watched [Harden] for nine years," Mitchell said. "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 and all that stuff, but he did. Yeah, sure, 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."

The Cavaliers acquired Harden in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers in February, sending guard Darius Garland and a second-round pick to L.A. as part of the deal.

While Harden is an 11-time All-Star, three-time scoring champion, one-time NBA MVP and likely future Hall of Famer, the decision to trade for him was controversial nonetheless.

That's primarily due to the fact that Harden's playoff performances have paled in comparison to what he typically does during the regular season over the course of his 17-year career.

In 191 career playoff games, Harden averages 22.2 points, 6.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from beyond the arc.

By comparison, Harden averages 24.0 points, 7.3 assists and 5.6 rebounds, and shoots 43.9 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from deep during the regular season.

While Mitchell, Harden, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen combined to lead the Cavs to the Eastern Conference Finals this season, Harden largely struggled during the playoffs again, averaging 19.2 points per game on 41.0 percent shooting.

Knicks-Cavaliers Highlights

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Harden had an especially tough time in the ECF, averaging 16.0 points per game on 38.9 percent shooting.

Additionally, the Knicks' decision to have Jalen Brunson attack Harden's defense while trailing by 22 points during the fourth quarter of Game 1 helped New York come all the way back to win that game before going on to earn the sweep.

Harden has a $42 million player option for next season, and all indications to this point suggest he'll decline it and re-sign with the Cavs on a multiyear deal in free agency.