INDEPENDENCE — With the Cavaliers trailing the New York Knicks 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals, Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson is a popular target of criticism from fans as well as national and local media.
On one hand, the Cavs have reached the conference finals for the first time since 2018 and the first time without LeBron James since 1992 in Atkinson’s second season at the helm. On the other hand, the fourth-seeded Cavs are in danger of being swept by the third-seeded Knicks, with Game 4 scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. Monday, May 25, at Rocket Arena.
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Could a non-competitive series cost Atkinson his job? Only Cavs owner Dan Gilbert truly knows the answer, but look no further than the Knicks for precedent. They fired Tom Thibodeau after losing to the Indiana Pacers 4-2 in the conference finals a year ago and hired Mike Brown, a two-time Cavs head coach, as Thibodeau’s replacement. Now the Knicks are on a 10-game playoff winning streak and one victory away from appearing in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
“It’s a great lesson on what this league is about from a coaching standpoint,” Atkinson said on Sunday, May 24, after the Cavs practiced at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “You can have success in this league and kind of not reach a pinnacle and get fired, and then you have to get back on the horse and then you have to go on a learning journey and a get-better journey. … Mike is a great story of resiliency and sticking with it and continuing to get better.
“Believe me, I relish this opportunity. I know how rare it is, right? We had one of our first-year coaches after we beat the [Detroit] Pistons [in the Eastern Conference semifinals], and I turned to him, I said, ‘You know this is not normal, like, going to the conference finals when you’re a first-year coach.’ It’s not. So, you’ve really got to appreciate we have this window of opportunity with this group, and I take that burden super seriously and for my own ambition, right? I want to take this group to the next level. So, sure, I think there’s added responsibility when you have a talented team like this.”
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Cavs vs. Knicks, Game 2 photos
May 21, 2026; New York, New York, USA; General view of Knicks playoff towels on seats before game two of the eastern conference finals of the 2026 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
(Vincent Carchietta, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Cavs vs. Knicks, Game 2 photos
May 21, 2026; New York, New York, USA; General view of Knicks playoff towels on seats before game two of the eastern conference finals of the 2026 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
(Vincent Carchietta, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Cavs vs. Knicks, Game 2 photos
May 21, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Thomas Bryant (3) warms up before game two of the eastern conference finals of the 2026 NBA playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
(Vincent Carchietta, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Cavs vs. Knicks, Game 2 photos
May 21, 2026; New York, New York, USA; General view of a Knicks playoff towel on a seat before game two of the eastern conference finals of the 2026 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
(Vincent Carchietta, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Cavs vs. Knicks, Game 2 photos
May 21, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Miles McBride (2) warms up before game two of the eastern conference finals of the 2026 NBA playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
(Vincent Carchietta, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Cavs vs. Knicks, Game 2 photos
May 21, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) warms up before game two of the eastern conference finals of the 2026 NBA playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
(Vincent Carchietta, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)Kenny Atkinson asks Cavaliers players why they believe they can rally vs. Knicks despite 3-0 deficit in Eastern Conference Finals
Whether the Cavs fight for their playoff lives or wave the white flag in Game 4 will be, at least to some degree, a reflection on how much players are buying what Atkinson is selling at this stage.
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Although no NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series, Atkinson said he asked Cavs players during a film session why they believe they can rally in the conference finals. He said he received about eight great answers.
“We’ve had success against them in the past. We beat them four times last year. [It’s a] similar group, right?” Atkinson said. “We’ve had [a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter of] Game 1, right? Our shots aren’t going in right now. I think that’s part of it. All of a sudden you start making them, stuff turns.”
Cavs playoffs: Cavaliers set themselves up for failure vs. Knicks | Opinion
May 23, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson looks on during the first quarter against the New York Knicks during game three of the eastern conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Atkinson, who will turn 59 on June 2, is the midst of his deepest playoff run as an NBA head coach.
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In his previous head coaching job with the Brooklyn Nets, Atkinson lost in the first round and went 1-4 in the 2019 postseason. Last season with the Cavs, Atkinson went 5-4 with a 4-0 sweep against the Miami Heat in the first round and a 4-1 loss to the Pacers in the second round. So far this postseason, Atkinson is 8-9 after going 4-3 against the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons in Rounds 1 and 2 and falling behind the Knicks 3-0. In other words, Atkinson’s playoff record is 14-17, including 13-13 with the Cavs.
“I think just like the players, you do a review of yourself after every game,” Atkinson said. “What could I have done better? Substitution patterns, time, all of it. You do a quick review. You can’t spend too much time on it. Then I think [in the] offseason, you do a deep dive on yourself. Listen, we have consultants that evaluate what I do, and I get feedback from mentors on that stuff. So, that’s part of it. It’s not just the players that are in this process.”
Cavaliers playoffs: Cavs will try to become first team to overcome 3-0 deficit in NBA postseason history
The main knock on Atkinson is he has been too slow to make adjustments against the Knicks, starting with how he didn’t call a timeout amid New York’s 18-1 run in the fourth quarter of Game 1, how the Cavs have tried to defend point guard Jalen Brunson, how they picked a lethal dose of poison by leaving forward Josh Hart open in Game 2 and how their offense has fallen flat late in Game 1 and again in Games 2 and 3.
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For the record, Cavs players have publicly defended Atkinson.
“I think he’s done a great job,” backup shooting guard Sam Merrill said on May 24. “I think his messaging to us has been great in between games. When it’s been going well, when we’ve been struggling, I think his messaging has been great. I think at the end of the day, there’s only so much a coach can do, and we have to go out there and produce. We’ve got to find a way to get stops, and we’ve got to find a way to make shots.”
Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson applauds the team during the third quarter of game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks, May 23, 2026, in Cleveland.
Kenny Atkinson explains Cavs hurt themselves against the Knicks by failing to close out previous playoff series sooner
Atkinson conceded the Cavs are being haunted in the conference finals by allowing their previous series against the Raptors and Pistons to drag out to seven games. He identified Cleveland’s Game 6 loss in Toronto, its Game 6 defeat to the Pistons at home and its waste of a 22-point fourth-quarter lead in Game 1 in New York as “emotional playoff blows.”
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Losing Game 6 in each of the first two rounds also contributed to a physical toll. The Cavs have played 17 playoff games. The Knicks have played 13.
“You want to get those two games. Why? Because you want to get your rest,” Atkinson said. “You want to even out the rest advantage the Knicks had.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 21: Head coach Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts against the New York Knicks during the third quarter in Game Two of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden on May 21, 2026 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
The Cavs had one day off between Game 7 against the Pistons on May 17 and Game 1 against the Knicks on May 19. The Knicks had eight days off between the ending of their second-round series (Game 4 against the Philadelphia Sixers) on May 10 and Game 1 against the Cavs on May 19.
“I said it before the series: The rest disadvantage is real,” Atkinson said. “It’s massive, right?”
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The acknowledgement gives rise to questions about how Atkinson has or hasn’t used the Cavs’ depth.
For example, second-year Cavs wing Jaylon Tyson has experienced highs and lows in the playoffs, but he compiled three points, three rebounds and an assist during 8 minutes, 32 seconds of playing time in Game 3 against the Knicks. After giving the Cavs a spark off the bench in nearly seven minutes of playing time during the second quarter, Tyson didn’t play again until the beginning of the fourth quarter.
“I give Kenny ultimate praise,” Tyson said on May 24. “He gave me this opportunity in the first place early on to be able to earn minutes in the playoffs. Last year, I couldn’t even sniff the court. I wouldn’t even thought about getting a chance to play, so I’m super grateful for that. I understand in my mind as second-year player on a really, really deep team, it’s hard to get minutes.
“I have a really good relationship with Kenny. [He] keeps it honest with me, and that’s all I ever ask. Just keep it honest with me. And when I go in there, he instills confidence in me. He tells me, ‘Be aggressive. Be you.’ And I feel like we have a little bit of a trust level to be able to go out there and know that I got his back.”
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Whether Cavs players collectively have Atkinson’s back will be tested in Game 4. And whether the Cavs organization still has Atkinson’s back will be tested whenever the dust settles from Cleveland’s 2025-26 season.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson takes ‘burden super seriously’ in playoffs