“Not Good Enough”: James Harden Keeps It Real Over Cavaliers’ Gutsy Win Over Struggling Bulls

The Cleveland Cavaliers just about got the job done against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. They almost dug their own grave in a game that most expected them to breeze through. The Bulls, who outscored the Cavs 37-22 in the fourth quarter, came close to spoiling James Harden and Co.’s night.

The Cavaliers got over the line by just five points (110-115). Since the Bulls have a 28-42 record and are #12 in the East, the Cavs really have to understand that the hard victory is not exactly confidence-inducing for the fans and even the players.

Harden joined Cleveland from the Los Angeles Clippers in February, and he has made one thing clear from the word go: The Beard wants to win the title. But if they keep making things difficult for themselves as they did against the Bulls, that dream may fade away come the post-season. Harden was at his candid best while acknowledging the team’s shortcomings after the game

“It’s not good enough,” Harden admitted. “We gotta be more professional. We have to do a better job in closing that game out a lot earlier. We started being careless, so we just gotta be better.”

Harden has played on plenty of good teams over the years. He had a fairly good chance to compete for the title in Houston, Brooklyn, and with the Clippers. But most of the time, his teams choked, especially in H-Town and the Nets. With the Clippers, things just never clicked.

In Cleveland, now that the 36-year-old is well into the second half of his career, Harden has a solid chance at retiring with at least one ring. The Cavs have a great team, and one of the best backcourts in the league with Harden and Donovan Mitchell.

They managed to hold down the fort against the Bulls. But will a performance like this fly against the Celtics or the Knicks? Harden doesn’t want the team to falter the way they did against Chicago while playing the championship contenders come playoff time.