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Stephen A. Smith has a brutal take on Kenny Atkinson's job security originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Down 0-3 with no team in NBA history ever surviving it, Kenny Atkinson, in a Sunday news conference told reporters the Cavaliers were analytically winning the series.
"I think analytically, we've won two out of three in the expected score," Atkinson said. "I don't know if you guys follow that, the expected score. And I know you're looking confused."
Stephen A. Smith had no patience for it.
"That moment right there is why Kenny Atkinson deserves to be an assistant coach," Smith said on First Take. "For any coach to have that come out of their mouth, it's egregious. Certain owners out there, not all, but there's some owners out there that would have the pink slip ready for him the second they lose tonight."
Josh Hart's lamppost line made Atkinson's press conference look even worse
Knicks guard Josh Hart had already shared his take with reporters, and it quickly went viral before Atkinson took the stage.
"I'm never a huge analytics guy. At a certain point, they are a lamp post to a drunk person. You can lean on them, but it won't get you home," Hart said, to Karl-Anthony Towns' visible amusement on the sideline.
The Knicks have won 10 straight playoff games and beaten Cleveland by an average of 22.5 points in the series. The Cavs shot 29 percent from three in Game 3, went 12-of-19 from the free-throw line, and were never seriously in the game after the first quarter.
Atkinson won Coach of the Year last season after leading Cleveland to 64 wins, seemed aware that the analytics framing wouldn't land cleanly.
"If you believe in process and all that, take that layer," he told reporters. "I know I don't throw that on them. I see it for myself."
Game 4 is Monday night in Cleveland. A Knicks win sends New York to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999 and almost certainly opens a full conversation about Atkinson's future with the franchise.
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