The New York Knicks absolutely dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, advancing to the NBA Finals with a 4-0 sweep. But despite the sweep, Cavaliers guard James Harden still thinks Cleveland was the better team.
After the Game 4 loss the ended the series, Harden was asked just how much better the Knicks were than the Cavaliers. But even after a four-game sweep, Harden was not willing to admit that the Knicks were even the better team.
Harden said that he “genuinely” believed that the Cavaliers were the better team between the two, but they just didn’t show it in that series.
“I can’t even answer that question, honestly,” Harden said via Sports Illustrated. “Yeah, it was 4-0, but I don’t think we had a chance as far as our best shot from the standpoint of circumstances. Obviously, they dominated us 4-0, but I don’t know if I can necessarily answer that question just because, genuinely, I do feel like we are the better team. But series-wise, we didn’t show it, so it’s a tough question to answer.”
When asked a similar question, Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell had a similar sentiment, but offered a bit more praise to the Knicks for their sweep.
“We did this to ourselves,” Mitchell said. “That’s not an excuse. [The Knicks] are a hungry team. They beat us, swept us. So, I don’t want to diminish that, but we didn’t give ourselves a chance because we didn’t handle business … you can’t play with your food. We had an opportunity to close both series and give ourselves some rest, and we didn’t.”
Team owner Dan Gilbert, meanwhile, offered a more firm rebute over the team’s performance after the game as he said that he thinks they are “nowhere near” where he believes the team needs to be in order to compete for an NBA Championship.
“We took a step ahead this spring, but we are nowhere near where we need to be,” he wrote on X. “I can’t thank the fans enough for the support this year. We will dig in all summer and do everything we possibly can to take the next step. We will grind until we get there.”
Regardless of what the Cavaliers think about the series or how they stack up with the Knicks, the reality is that New York will be the team representing the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals while the Cavaliers watch from home.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.