Just about everyone outside of the Cleveland Cavaliers is having quite a time taking shots at James Harden. Harden has been an easy target, especially on social media, over his abysmal performance in the Cavs’ 115-104 overtime loss to the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
Harden’s defense was particularly a big letdown for the Cavs, whether the team admits it or not. He was like a broken turnstile on several occasions in the series opener, with Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson taking advantage of the former NBA Most Valuable Player’s flimsy defense.
Apparently, Harden’s performance on that side of the court was so poor that even a former NFL star believes he can get buckets as well if guarded by the Cavs star.
“I haven’t shot a basketball in nearly a year, and I know I can go get a bucket on James Harden right now,” former Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Le’Veon Bell wrote in a social media post on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
Defense has never been Harden’s calling card in the league, but he’s got to show a much better effort in that area going forward.
Moreover, he wasn’t great either on offense in the series opener versus the Knicks, as the three-time NBA scoring champion needed 16 attempts from the field while going 4-for-6 from the foul line to get to 15 points in 42 minutes of action.
Harden can silence Bell and the critics in Game 2 against the Knicks on Thursday, still in the Big Apple.