After the Cleveland Cavaliers lost in Game 3 to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday, 121-109, the team is now down 0-3 in the series. With the Cavs’ back against the wall in the playoffs as the team is on the brink of elimination, head coach Kenny Atkinson has a claim that is sure to catch anybody’s attention.

Ahead of a crcucial Game 4 as it’s a do-or-die game for Cleveland, Atkinson would look at the series so far against New York and says “analytically,” the team won two of the games in expected score, via New York Basketball on X, formerly Twitter.

“We’ve had success against this team before. We’ve had really good moments. In this series, up [20 points] Game 1. Even Game 2, take that, run out from the beginning of the third quarter, and it’s pretty tight. I think analytically, I think we won, I said, three-out-of-three, I think we’re two-out-of-three in the [expected score]…we went two-out-of three. And I know you’re looking confused,” Atkinson said to a media member, “but, if you believe in process and all that, you know, take that layer.”

Cavs’ Kenny Atkinson says he knows “no one wants to hear that”

It seems inevitable that Atkinson will be critiqued for that comment with the Cavs down 0-3 in the series, and if history has shown anything, no team has ever come back from a series deficit like that. While Cleveland won’t give up just yet, Atkinson talks about the feeling of the team.

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“I don’t throw that on them. I see it for myself,” Atkinson said. “We have this feeling, I have this feeling, then I can go to our analytical table…last night, the expected score was like one or two. Us shooting way below expected, them shooting way over.

“I know when no one wants to hear that. I think you guys like to hear it. I know the general public; no one wants to hear it. Everyone’s outcome-based, I get that too,” Atkinson continued.

It remains to be seen if the Cavs can make history, but it starts with Monday night’s Game 4.