Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson described the team’s 99-94 loss to the Golden State Warriors as a result of poor shooting and missed opportunities. “It’s deflating when you’re missing shots from like… there’s no… I don’t know who would be joyful in that situation. It’s just tough,” he said after the game at Rocket Arena.
Atkinson praised his team’s effort on the offensive glass, noting the Cavaliers grabbed 30 offensive rebounds despite struggling to convert at the rim. “We were trying, we were fighting… could not get over the hump,” he said, giving credit to Golden State’s energy and defensive schemes.
The coach highlighted the Warriors’ fresh, young roster, singling out Gary Payton II for his defensive impact on Donovan Mitchell. “GP was a terror like he normally is. Made it really hard on Don,” Atkinson said, noting the challenge of overcoming fatigue on a back-to-back.
When asked about the offensive process, Atkinson acknowledged the team created quality shots but failed to convert, particularly near the rim. “I felt like in the first half we got there a lot and we just couldn’t convert,” he explained, adding that the Warriors disrupted their rhythm with box-and-one and zone defenses.
Atkinson emphasized the importance of using the upcoming five-day break to reset, recover, and refine the team’s approach. “We need it, we need to reset… get a little practice time, schedule’s going to ease up, get some guys healthy,” he said, noting that Mitchell and Evan Mobley gave everything they had physically.
The coach also addressed the lack of offensive support beyond Mitchell. “We needed someone to step up and we didn’t have that tonight. No one really stepped up. He was kind of solo out there,” Atkinson said, clarifying that the issue was not effort but execution.
Defensively, Atkinson noted the Cavaliers were not bad but not perfect. “When you’re not making shots like that you’ve got to get more stops… we had a fair amount of breakdowns… they weren’t effort things. They were more like cognitive mishaps,” he said.
Looking forward, Atkinson framed the loss as a learning opportunity. “These are… you learn a lot about our players, our young guys, our role players… we got some time here,” he said, emphasizing the need to refine shot selection and offensive principles.
