The Cleveland Cavaliers is showing signs of fatigue in its Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the New York Knicks after being pushed to seven games in each of its first two playoff series.
After a massive fourth-quarter collapse in Game 1 against New York, Cleveland was thoroughly outplayed in each of the next two games and now finds itself in a daunting 0-3 series hole. However, Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson is insisting that things aren’t quite as grim as they seem.
“I think analytically, I think we’ve won the — I said three out of three [games in the series], we’re two out of three in the expected wins,” Atkinson told reporters on Sunday, according to ESPN. “I don’t know if you guys follow that — the expected score. We’ve won two out of three.”
“Last night, our expected score was like one point or two — us shooting way below expected,” Atkinson continued. “Them shooting way over. I know no one wants to hear that. I think you guys like it. I know the general public — no one wants that. Everyone is outcome-based. Sure, I get that, too.”
New York has won 10 games in a row, and no team in NBA history has recovered from a 0-3 hole to win a series, but Atkinson is pointing to past success as why Cleveland can beat the odds.
“We’ve had success against this team before,” he said. “We’ve had really good moments in this series — up 20 in Game 1. Even Game 2, take that run [by the Knicks] out from the beginning of the third quarter, and it’s pretty tight.”
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.