The Cleveland Cavaliers were the first team to clinch a spot in the playoffs this season.
Barring a disaster, they will finish the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference, and that should give them a big edge in the first couple of rounds.
However, some are still skeptical about this team.
They believe they haven’t been battle-tested yet, mostly because they’ve been pushed around and have struggled in the postseason.
To add more fuel to that fire, Anthony Lima claims that there are legitimate reasons to be worried about Kenny Atkinson.
Talking on 92.3 The Fan, he recalled that he’s very inexperienced in the postseason.
"In the way we talk about players, he is just as inexperienced at that job as some of these other #Cavs players that we wonder when they're going to break through in the playoffs."
๐ @SportsBoyTony w/ @NickWilsonSays and @JPeterlin๐โคต๏ธ
๐ Listen: https://t.co/Rer5fmcwYX pic.twitter.com/fvvAgLlFMt
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) March 26, 2025
Lima recalled that Atkinson has only coached five playoff games in his career, all with the Brooklyn Nets, and he went 1-4.
Granted, those numbers aren’t great, but we also have to take a look at the context.
That Brooklyn Nets team wasn’t experienced or talented enough to even make the playoffs, and the sole fact that he led them there was more than remarkable.
Moreover, he was a part of multiple postseason series as an assistant coach, and you’ve got to start somewhere.
It’s safe to assume that not even the most optimistic Cavaliers fan expected this turnaround under Coach Atkinson, at least not in just one year.
Unlike some of the players on the team, he’s earned the benefit of the doubt.
Hopefully, he will prove the doubters wrong and show that this team’s regular-season success wasn’t a fluke at all.
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