The Cleveland Cavaliers fell apart in disastrous fashion on Tuesday night, one of the worst collapses in the history of the playoffs. While it is easy and correct to blame James Harden, it is head coach Kenny Atkinson who failed the team and allowed this collapse to happen.
The Cavaliers were up 93-71 with 7:52 left in the fourth quarter. Teams in that position win 99.9 percent of the time. Cleveland was well on its way to the Game 1 upset and a real shot at reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 2018 and the only time in franchise history without LeBron James.
The Knicks came back
Then, suddenly, the Cavaliers went ice cold while Jalen Brunson came alive. The Knicks' best player called up James Harden on nearly every possession, cooked him, and then either scored or dimed up teammates for open shots. It was hard to watch for Cleveland fans.
The Knicks stomped their way back from down 22 to tie the game and force overtime, and then put the Cavs to bed in the extra frame. It was a 44-11 extended run to turn a 22-point deficit into an 11-point win. It was the kind of comeback that gave viewers whiplash.
Harden was truly abysmal down the stretch. He was the defensive target for Jalen Brunson and gave up open shot after open shot. He made just one single shot all fourth quarter, a turnaround jumper that rattled in with 30 seconds to go. In total, he was a frigid 5-for-16 from the field and 1-for-8 from deep.
Five fouls, six turnovers and just three assists fill out his incompetent night. He brought the ball up so slowly that it became difficult for Cleveland to get into meaningful and dangeorus offense. He didn't even pretend to rotate on defense, and he was swallowed up when he probed the basket himself.
James Harden was abysmal
He had a bad game, then an even worse third quarter. The reasons to keep him in the game were nonexistent, and yet Atkinson left him out there to get cooked again and again.
James Harden is not the typical superstar. He has these moments of inexplicably bad play that doom his teams. They often come in the most pressure-filled scenarios. Atkinson has to know this. The Cavaliers and their fans certainly do.
It's Atkinson's job to recognize this and give Harden the yank. He cannot leave him in the game merely because of "standing" or "seniority". The Cavaliers were better all night with Mitchell surrounded by wings and forward, and such a group would have done a much better job locking up Brunson.
The Cavaliers fell apart. Blame James Harden. But be sure to bring some of the smoke and give it to head coach Kenny Atkinson. He has to manage his team better, and what he did tonight was lazy and ineffective.
Atkinson has to be better. Because Harden may not be.
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