James Harden came under fire for his lack of defensive effort during a rough third-quarter sequence in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 124-112 road loss to the undermanned Charlotte Hornets on Monday.

Harden displayed next to no urgency as Charlotte grabbed two offensive rebounds on the same possession before the 37-year-old finally got involved by fouling Grayson Allen. The defensive lapse came against a Hornets team missing three starters, yet Charlotte still snapped a six-game losing streak after leading by as many as 33 points.

The NBA world promptly piled on the 2018 MVP, adding to the scrutiny surrounding his start to Year 18.

James Harden’s Lackluster Defense Draws Concerns and Backlash

With Charlotte leading 80-64 and looking to extend its third-quarter edge, Allen fired a corner triple, which missed the mark. Ryan Kalkbrenner secured the offensive rebound and found Sion James open beyond the arc. All the while, Harden stayed underneath the basket, making almost no effort to box out before opting not to contest James’ shot.

The sophomore guard’s shot was also off target, with Allen taking notice and crashing the boards over Harden. The sharpshooter drew a foul on the offensive rebound, converting both free throws to put the Hornets up 82-64 with 8:29 left in the quarter.

Legion Hoops shared the troubling sequence, drawing attention to Harden’s lack of hustle with a simple “yikes.”

Rebounding was already a sore spot. After Saturday’s 109-97 home loss to the New York Knicks, Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said, “We’ve got to find a way to rebound better collectively.”

Two nights later, Charlotte won the battle of the boards 49-32 and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to Cleveland’s 4. Kalkbrenner had 10 of them on his way to 15 rebounds overall.

The Hornets won the third quarter 38-27 behind a 16-0 run that stretched their lead to 100-67, and Allen finished with a game-high 27 points.

Meanwhile, Harden recorded just 11 points on 3-for-9 shooting (33.3%), including 2-for-7 from deep (28.6%), with 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 4 turnovers in 25 minutes. The 11-time All-Star had his moments, including a 4-point play earlier in the third, but posted a minus-22 plus-minus, the second-worst mark on his team.

For Cavaliers reporter Danny Cunningham, Harden’s troubles went well beyond one trip down the floor.

“I’m not sure I have the words for how bad Harden has been defensively in this game,” Cunningham wrote.

“James Harden is completely washed,” one fan declared. “Obviously plenty of time for him to wake up, but the start of this season has been so painful.”

Another had seen enough, demanding, “Please get him off my team.”

One fan summed up Harden’s poor effort in a single word: “Pathetic.”

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons offered a more personal take, quipping, “This clip speaks to me and everyone else who played pickup basketball one year too long.”

His Ringer colleague Zach Lowe turned his attention to the Cavaliers as a whole, sounding the alarm on the aspiring Eastern Conference contender:

“We are elevating from CavsCon 4 to CavsCon 3. We are prepared to consider CavsCon 2, which would be unprecedented this early in the season.”

While the Cavaliers reached last year’s East finals, Monday’s loss, their fourth in five games, dropped them to 5-6. During this stretch, Harden has called attention to his team’s “inconsistent” play, with concerns further mounting after yet another frustrating letdown.

Cleveland’s road trip continues Wednesday at Madison Square Garden against the defending champion Knicks (5-4) in a rematch of Saturday’s defeat.