Kenny Atkinson has Cavaliers poised to be thorn in Knicks’ side

The STORY, as I’ve heard it, is that Kenny Atkinson realized his Nets days were numbered after a team meeting called by himself, the coach. 

Players passionately aired their issues in this postgame locker room gathering and Kevin Durant, who wasn’t even playing that season, became a vocal critic of the state of the team. Keep in mind the Nets were overachieving, at least in my view, still fighting for a postseason spot despite regular DNPs from their top dogs. But Atkinson hadn’t yet established a good connection with Durant or Kyrie Irving — which was difficult since neither was suiting up — and assessed he didn’t have time to work it out before the ax fell. 

So Atkinson told Nets president Sean Marks, and I’m paraphrasing, “If you’re going to fire me at the end of the season, just do it now.” 

Marks obliged. And nobody came out of the Brooklyn disaster looking better than Atkinson. 

Now he’s Tom Thibodeau’s problem to solve. 

Atkinson, the Long Island product and an engineer of Linsanity, is the overlooked and underappreciated upgrade of the offseason as the new Cavaliers coach. He returned to New York on Monday and left the Garden still undefeated with a 110-104 victory, reiterating Cleveland’s status as a top threat to thwart the Knicks’ lofty goals this season. 

The turning point Monday was in the third quarter, with the Knicks seemingly in control and Jalen Brunson coming up with a leg injury. It wasn’t too serious — Brunson returned in the fourth quarter — but his five minutes on the bench corresponded with the disappearance of the home team’s 11-point advantage. 

As much talent as the Knicks boast in their starting lineup — as much offensive firepower they acquired from the newcomers — they still need their star point guard. 

Under similar circumstances, the result was different last season in Cleveland, where Brunson was hurt early in the first quarter and the supporting cast gutted out one of the Knicks’ more impressive victories. 

But these aren’t last season’s Cavs. They’re not the Cavs from two years ago, either, when the Knicks punked them in the playoffs. 

They’re older, they’re less predictable offensively, they moved in the paint Monday as if unintimidated by Karl-Anthony Towns, and, most importantly, they’ve upgraded at coach with a spacing offense. 

“You feel [Atkinson’s presence], you see it in the group,” Cavs star Donovan Mitchell said before listing the addition of several new actions into the team’s offense. “Just the motion of the offense. You can tell it’s already different.” 

Added Darius Garland, “I think [Atkinson’s] really good for us. He’s super offensive-minded. Our defensive side of the ball is pretty good. So to get some offense into our repertoire is a must. He gives us a lot of freedom, gives us room just to hoop, a lot of space.” 

Atkinson waited for the right opportunity after the Nets’ dismissal, holding gigs as an assistant with the Warriors and Clippers while turning down an offer to become head coach of the Hornets. 

In retrospect, Atkinson believes being fired made him better. 

“It changed me,” said Atkinson, who was the assistant with the Knicks who worked most with Jeremy Lin in 2012. “You know, I’m not totally a different coach than I was in Brooklyn, but I learned a lot. 

“Obviously, being a part of the championship team with the Warriors … guys that have done it at the highest level. And then maybe more important than that is being with players that have done it at the highest level. So Steph [Curry], Draymond [Green], Klay [Thompson], Paul George, Kawhi [Leonard]. You learn so much from those guys … it’s funny how things work out. You get fired. You’re like, ‘Oh man, what am I gonna do?’ And then it turns out to actually be kind of what I needed. I needed more exposure to championship cultures.” 

The Cavs, minus Atkinson, are built on continuity. 

Of the seven players who logged at least 50 minutes in the 2023 playoff series loss to the Knicks, six were available for Monday’s game at MSG. 

Of the nine Knicks who played at least 50 minutes in that series, only two — Josh Hart and Brunson — played Monday. It’s quite the difference in roster retention versus turnover. But the Cavs also made the most underrated maneuver of the summer. 

Same players, different coach. 

And different result against the Knicks, who faced a better opponent with a better coach than what they remember from the last two years.