After the Cleveland Cavaliers suffered a sweep at the hands of the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals, many people within the basketball world are putting the team on blast. With the Cavs losing to the Knicks in Game 4 on Monday night, 130-93, Kendrick Perkins would call out the team for achieving all-time embarrassing lows.
Perkins would not only be angry at how Cleveland played throughout the series, from giving up a 22-point lead in Game 1 to their low-effort outings after, but pointed out the post-game comments from many within the team. That included Perkins mentioning on ESPN’s “First Take” head coach Kenny Atkinson saying that the team ‘analytically’ won some games in the series.
“This was one of the most, if not the most, embarrassing moments in NBA history,” Perkins said, via NBA Courtside. “They tapped out, they tapped out, and they quit. And you know the worst part about this whole situation…”
“The post-game comments throughout this series, starting with Kenny Atkinson, and what he said the other day about the analytics, that was one of the most asinine things I’ve heard this postseason, and Donovan Mitchell, he had something to say before last night’s game, he talked about, ‘Well, I feel like we never got over Game 1,’ basically along those context. What all that showing is your lack of mental toughness in that locker room,” Perkins continued.
Kendrick Perkins GOES IN on the Cavs for getting swept 😳
“This was one of if not the most embarrassing moments in NBA history… They got punked and embarrassed. It was an embarrassment for the league to witness that! The lack of competition to compete in between the lines on… https://t.co/KrjTVTXaow pic.twitter.com/9BRuDGzOYP
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) May 26, 2026
Kendrick Perkins puts himself in Dan Gilbert’s shoes with the Cavs
Perkins would continue talking about the Cavs, especially James Harden, aside from Atkinson and Mitchell, as he mentioned the team having a grueling seven-game series before the Eastern Conference Finals. Perkins took that as Harden and the rest of Cleveland being mentally not tough.
“If I’m Dan Gilbert, I’m looking at every single person on that roster, every single person on that coaching staff, and I’m saying everybody’s on the chopping block, every single one of them, we’re not going to give Donovan Mitchell a pass. Those points was cute, but they weren’t powerful,” Perkins said.
It remains to be seen how the Cavs respond next season.