Kenny Atkinson’s Brutal Message to Cavs Players Sparked Massive Comeback

In the media, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has portrayed himself as a mild mannered communicator.

However, when he’s on the court, the competitive beast inside him takes over and he becomes a fiery madman.

Atkinson has stated many times over the course of this season that he has a good sense of when to be calm and when to rip into his players.

Looking at the Cavaliers’ 64-17 record, it’s safe to say that he hasn’t had to berate them much this season.

But with the playoffs rapidly approaching and the Cavs not playing their best basketball lately, the former NBA champion saw the perfect opportunity to light a fire under his guys.

With the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference locked up and star guard Donovan Mitchell likely out until the start of the postseason, Cleveland has struggled to get motivated for their remaining games.

This was evident in Friday night’s contest against the New York Knicks where the Cavs were down 23 points early in the game.

The former Golden State Warriors assistant then walked away from the bench. When he returned, he got a resounding confirmation from his players that they wanted to keep playing.

Clearly the message awoke something inside of Cleveland because they out scored New York by 21 points over the final three quarters.

Atkinson praised his team’s fight and intensity after he challenged them, namely Darius Garland who returned to his All-Star form with a strong 26-point and 13-assist performance.