Harden is well aware that James indeed exaggerated Westbrook's weaknesses.
But with the irrefutable evidence provided by James, Big Westbrook had no choice but to yield this time.
As for why Durant shares the same view as James?
The answer is, when James packages himself as a "neutral and objective person," given Durant's current life experiences, how could he see that James is step by step trying to approach the center of power of these Knicks?
Especially when James repeatedly emphasized that the Knicks should focus their offense around Durant.
"'KD's' offensive efficiency in the first game was not much worse than Messiah's, it's just that we didn't create more shooting opportunities for him."
"I have no doubt that as long as we unite to support 'KD,' he will definitely have an on-court impact no less than Messiah."
"In these finals, to defeat the Warriors, 'KD' is indeed our only trump card."
