The New York Knicks are one win away from their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are staring down something that has never happened in NBA history.
No team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit. That reality, though, did not stop Kenny Atkinson from finding the silver lining.
The @NBA_NewYork account on X shared a clip of Atkinson speaking to reporters after Game 3. In it, Atkinson leaned on analytics to make the case that his team has not been as bad as the scoreboard suggests.
Kenny Atkinson Says Cavaliers Analytically Won 2 of 3 Games vs the Knicks
Photo by Luke Hales/Getty ImagesKenny Atkinson, Cleveland Cavaliers
Atkinson pointed to expected score, a metric that measures what a team should have scored based on shot quality, to argue Cleveland has been closer than the series looks.
“Analytically, I think we won the expected, I said 3 out of 3, we’re 2 out of 3 in the expected. I don’t know if you guys follow that, it’s an expected score. You know, and we won 2 out of 3. And I know you’re looking confused.”
— Kenny Atkinson
He acknowledged the media’s skepticism but leaned further into the process-based thinking, making it clear this was his own internal read, not something he was pushing onto his players.
“There is really, if you believe in process and all that. I know I don’t throw that on them, I see it for myself. I’m like, man, we have this feeling, I have this feeling. Then I can go to our analytical table and be like, man, I think last night the expected score was like 102. I was shooting way below expected, I’m shooting way over. I know no one wants to hear that. I think you guys like that. I know general public, no one wants to hear that. Everyone’s outcome-based. Sure, I get that too.”
He is not wrong that expected score is a real metric. But the Knicks have not just been outscoring Cleveland on paper. They have been outplaying them when it matters most.
What the Knicks Have Actually Done in This Series
Photo by Jason Miller/Getty ImagesKnicks Dominate Cavs, But Kenny Atkinson Thinks Analytics Say Otherwise
Honestly, the only game Cleveland can realistically claim was completely theirs was Game 1. They led by 22 points with less than eight minutes remaining before Brunson pulled off one of the most unbelievable comebacks you can witness in a playoff game.
However, Games 2 and 3 showed totally different vibes. Cleveland’s defense messed up big time, and their lack of playing hard couldn’t be overlooked. Josh Hart, a player that the Cavs were quite comfortable leaving open, scored a playoff career-high 26 points against them in Game 2. In Game 3, Mikal Bridges as good as went 11-for-15 from the field, and he was basically uncontested.
Brunson put up 30 points and six assists in Game 3. New York has now won 10 straight playoff games, that is the longest single-postseason run in the recent NBA history. Atkinson using expected score as the main reason for the three losses is, let’s say it’s a bit of a stretch.
The problem is the Knicks have not let Cleveland have a single moment to relax in this series.
The Game 4 in Cleveland. Atkinson may use the analytics excuse as much as he wants, but no team has ever won four straight games to come back from 3-0. First and foremost, the Cavs need a win and at this point, just getting a win seems like a real challenge.
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