Kenny Atkinson is taking “looking on the bright side” to another level.
The Cavaliers head coach tried to put a positive spin on their current 0-3 hole to the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals by claiming that Cleveland had actually been playing on par with New York, according to the analytics.
Atkinson even went as far as to say the Cavaliers would have won two of the first three games based on the expected score.
Kenny Atkinson reacts during Game 3 on May 23. AP Photo“We’ve had success against this team before. We’ve had really good moments,” Atkinson told reporters. “In this series, up [20 points in] Game 1. Even Game 2, take that run out from the beginning of the third quarter, and it’s pretty tight. I think analytically, I think we’ve won I said three out of three, I think we’re two out of three in the [expected score] … we’ve won two out of three. And I know you’re looking confused, but … if you believe in process and all that, take that layer.
“I don’t throw that on them. I see it for myself. We have this feeling, I have this feeling, then I can go to our analytical table … last night, the expected score was like one point or two. Us shooting way below expected, them shooting way over.”
Mike Brown and the Knicks react during their Game 3 win against the Cavaliers on May 23. Charles WenzelbergThe comments were certainly interesting, considering the Knicks are on the verge of their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999, and the Cavaliers are coming off a Game 3 effort that saw them shoot just 29 percent from 3-point range and go 12-for-19 from the free-throw line.
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The Knicks have also won 10 consecutive postseason games — setting a new franchise record in the process — and have beaten their opponents by an average of 22.5 points during that span.
Atkinson did appear to concede that his point may not be a winning one with the fans, who are watching the Cavaliers crash out at the end of a hard-fought season.
“I know when no one wants to hear that,” he said. “I think [the media likes] hearing it. I know the general public, no one wants to hear it. Everyone’s outcome-based, I get that, too.”
