The Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the most improved teams in the NBA this season.
Replacing J.B. Bickerstaff with Kenny Atkinson proved to be the right move, as the new head coach brought out the best in this group and took their game to new heights.
Unfortunately, it was the same final outcome nonetheless.
The Cavs couldn’t get past the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the playoffs, and, perhaps more worrisome, they didn’t look competitive.
That’s why, now that the New York Knicks have parted with Tom Thibodeau, Ken Carman questions whether Atkinson might be on the hot seat.
“Is the clock already running on Kenny Atkinson? Because I thought Tom Thibodeau did a good job. It’s not that the honeymoon’s over, I just think the honeymoon abruptly ends in the NBA. … Is the Eastern Conference Finals good enough for Cavs fans? … I don’t know if it is. … It’s harder and harder to switch out these players … but you could always switch out a coach, as we see in the NBA,” Carman said, via 92.3 The Fan.
🏀"Is the clock already running on Kenny Atkinson?… The honeymoon abruptly ends in the NBA."@KenCarman breaks down what the Knicks firing Tom Thibodeau means for #Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson next season.
🔊: https://t.co/BnOPbwStRd pic.twitter.com/2MAfOidJFZ
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) June 4, 2025
It wouldn’t make any sense to fire Atkinson, as outcoached as he was in the playoffs, after the season his team just had.
Granted, that doesn’t mean that he’s going to have the benefit of the doubt forever or that he should continue to stay off one Coach of the Year season.
He will be asked and urged to get to the next level, and failing to make timely adjustments in the postseason could cost him his job next year.
Teams are rarely patient, and the Knicks’ decision to move on from Thibodeau after all he did for their organization seems somewhat rash and unfair.
Then again, the NBA is a challenging business, and there’s no place for emotion.
Numbers and goals don’t lie, and teams that feel close to getting over the hump tend to make desperate moves.
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