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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has addressed the fallout from a comment he made during last season's Eastern Conference Finals, where his team trailed the New York Knicks 3-0. Atkinson had said the Cavs had 'analytically' won two of the first three games, a remark that quickly went viral on social media, often stripped of its context.
With the Knicks back in town on Saturday, Nov. 7, Atkinson took the opportunity to clarify his meaning. The Knicks won that game 109-97, as the Cavs were playing the second night of a back-to-back. 'When you look back on it, and take the context of the question, I'm not sure that was taken into account, which I know is a little bit of a lesson for me,' Atkinson said. 'You can just take a sound bite, but no one looked at the question, what the context of the question was. You live and learn a little bit with those things.'
Atkinson's original comment came when the Cavs were facing elimination and searching for any sign of optimism against a Knicks team that seemed unstoppable—and eventually won the NBA title by defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. His point was that the Cavs had done positive things, particularly in the shots they were getting, and had been successful in that regard in two of the three games. However, he stressed that it didn't matter because the score was the score.
Social media, however, interpreted the clip differently, and a wave of memes and jokes mocked Atkinson, with many believing he was out of touch with reality. Many Knicks fans took it as a slight, thinking Atkinson was suggesting the Knicks weren't the better team despite their 3-0 lead. New York went on to sweep the series.
'Like I said, 99 percent of my comments were how they dominated us,' Atkinson said. 'They were by far the better team. We get information, and I wasn't lying in that sense, but in no sense was it like, Oh, man, we deserve to be winning. Zero, zero, zero thought of that.'
Key Analysis
Atkinson does value the analytical data the team collects, as does every NBA team in the modern game. Such data helps assess players, trends, games, and future performance. However, Atkinson pointed out that data doesn't always change the outcome. 'We get information that checks our process. All that being said, we were still dominated,' he said. 'It kind of doesn't matter because there's more than that. There's mental toughness, the physical toughness, the flow of the game, how aggressive you are. There's all these other intangibles that go in with that.'
Despite the stories that provided full context, social media often doesn't follow suit. The memes, reposts, and likes will likely continue, as these things take on a life of their own. Atkinson is glad the record has been set straight. 'I'm glad [it was cleared up] because in no sense was it like, Oh, man, we deserve to [win],' he said. 'It was completely the opposite, actually. They deserved it, and they did it again against San Antonio.'
Originally reported by yahoo.