Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters on Monday, after his team was swept in the Eastern Conference Finals, that the inability to close out their first two series impacted them negatively against the New York Knicks.
“I’ll tell you what didn’t help—losing those two Game 6’s [in the first two rounds of the playoffs]. Having been in this a long time and seeing this before, I think you have to take advantage of those opportunities,” he said. “The way the scheduling’s set up in the league—and that’s a whole other topic I’m not going to go off on—you get on a hectic schedule. That’s not to say that if we win those Game 6’s we beat the Knicks. I’m not saying that, but I think it gives us a better chance. But the density of the frequency of the games—never had two days rest, you know the whole deal—played a part in it. Definitely not going to say that’s the reason we lost, but we would’ve had a better chance if we take care of business in those Game 6’s.”
Because the Cavaliers failed to close out both the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons in six games, they went from Game 5 in the first round on Wednesday, April 29 to Monday’s Game 4—nearly a month—without having two days rest.
They also had played 14 playoff games before the ECF began.
The Knicks, meanwhile, had three days rest between the first and second rounds and a whopping eight days of rest ahead of the ECF after sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. They had played four fewer games than the Cavs ahead of that matchup.
And it gets better for the Knicks, who will now have a full week of rest before the NBA Finals kick off on June 3. With the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs deadlocked at two games apiece, the Knicks are going to be the far more rested team.
Of course, the schedule wasn’t the only factor in the series.
The Cavs blew a 22-point lead in Game 1 and lost in overtime. James Harden shot 38.9 percent from the field and 17.9 percent from three, had 17 turnovers through four games and was hunted defensively throughout the series. The Cavs struggled to slow down New York’s offense in general and lost three of the four games by double-digit points.
Outside of Donovan Mitchell, who averaged 27.3 points across the four games, nobody else consistently showed up for the Cavs. Tired legs may have played a part. Either way, the Cavaliers will now have all summer to lament those missed opportunities in the series prior, and reevaluate whether their current core is capable of being a true title contender.
