Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson did not sound panicked after Cleveland’s Game 1 collapse, even after a 22-point fourth-quarter lead vanished in New York. His message on Wednesday was simple: “I want to lean on the positive. We had three quarters of really good basketball.”
Atkinson said the late breakdown was less about effort than execution. “Looking back on it, what I’m probably more disappointed about was our offense. Shot quality wasn’t great. We weren’t getting to the rim,” he said, adding that Cleveland settled too often when the game tightened.
The Cavaliers coach pointed to the final stretch as the turning point, but he also pushed back on the idea that the Knicks simply overpowered them. “In the fourth quarter they were in the first percentile of shot quality. We have data you guys don’t have. First percentile. So our process was right. They made some tough shots,” Atkinson said.
That process, however, still needs cleaner answers against Jalen Brunson. New York’s point guard scored 38 points in the comeback, and Atkinson acknowledged the challenge of keeping the ball out of his hands. “We did and Landry Shamet made the corner three,” Atkinson said of the double-team debate, “but we started double teaming and we got hurt with the double team.”
He said Cleveland’s defensive choice was a balancing act between sticking with the original coverage and forcing the ball out of Brunson’s hands. “We kind of picked a middle ground. We didn’t stick with the analytical thing where you’d say live with it,” Atkinson said. “If you’re on either side of the fence, you’re right.”
Atkinson also leaned into the emotional reset needed after a loss like that. “We’ve gone through RJ Barrett hits the three in Game 6 that was so important. We’ve been through it in the playoffs. We’ve been through game six trying to close it out at home. That was devastating,” he said. “So it’s like okay, come on, get back on the horse. We go back at it again tomorrow.”
He was equally direct about the team’s late offensive mistakes. “We didn’t move. We didn’t have spacing. We didn’t screen as well,” Atkinson said. “I know everybody says fatigue, but I’m not giving them that excuse. You should be able to swing the ball to the open man even if you’re tired.”
Atkinson defended Donovan Mitchell’s workload, too, after New York loaded up on him in key moments. “He’s a good isolation defender. Always has been. He’s super smart,” Atkinson said of James Harden. “I know everybody’s putting it on James, but I’d say a lot of it is on the team defense.”
The Cavaliers still believe the series can swing quickly, and Atkinson made it clear the locker room has not split under pressure. “They turned okay, let’s get better through this film session. We’ll walk through. Just super positive, which helps the group.”
