Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has addressed the widely mocked "analytically" comment he made during the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks. The remark, delivered after Game 3 with the Cavaliers trailing 3-0 in the series, became a meme and drew ridicule from Knicks players and fans alike.
Context of the Quote
Following a 121-113 Game 3 loss that left Cleveland down 3-0, Atkinson was asked how he could give hope to his players given that no NBA team had ever overcome a 3-0 deficit. He responded: "Analytically … we've won 2 out of 3. We're two out of the three in the expected score. If you believe in process and all that, like, man, take that later." Atkinson was referencing expected-score metrics from the team's analytics department, which suggested the Cavaliers had performed better than the actual results in Games 1 and 3. Prime Stats, an analytics provider, had Game 3 projected as a 113-113 tie and Game 1 as a 10-point New York win in regulation (the game went to overtime). Despite those numbers, the Knicks led the series 3-0 and had outscored Cleveland by 40 total points. New York went on to win Game 4 by 37 points, 130-93, though the expected score for that game was a closer 125-100.
The quote was widely mocked. Knicks guard Josh Hart joked on his podcast with Jalen Brunson, "I guess we lost analytically," and Karl-Anthony Towns said before the ESPYs that "analytically, we should win" the Best Team award. The word "analytically" became shorthand for justifying a lopsided defeat with numbers.
Atkinson's Explanation
On Saturday, the Cavaliers faced the Knicks for the first time since that series and lost 109-97. Prime Stats again posted an expected score more favorable to Cleveland, 112-103. This time, Atkinson did not cite the numbers. Instead, he told reporters the original soundbite was taken out of context. "I would just say there was no coach more complimentary of the Knicks and honest about our performance and how they dominated us," Atkinson said. "So you live and learn a little bit with those things. But like I said, 99% of my comments were how they dominated us. They were by far the better team. I answered the question, as it was taken, [which was] 'And you're down 3-0, what hope do you have of even giving to your guys?'"
Atkinson acknowledged that "no one wants to hear" about process when the outcome is a blown 22-point fourth-quarter lead and a 3-0 deficit, but he was trying to rally his troops in an impossible situation. His phrasing became a meme, yet when a team is down 3-0 in the playoffs, coaches will grasp at any signs of positivity. Atkinson had numbers suggesting the two teams were closer than the scoreboard indicated; using those numbers internally made sense, but putting them in public risked the ridicule he ultimately received.
