Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson praised his team’s effort despite Friday’s 136-125 loss to the Chicago Bulls at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. “I thought our spirit was good… a lot of our processes were good,” Atkinson said, emphasizing the contributions of his younger players.
Atkinson singled out Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen as bright spots. “That was a DG we know and love… I thought they were awesome,” he noted, while acknowledging the team’s defensive struggles. “The fact of the matter is we couldn’t stop them tonight… three games we played this team, I think they scored in the 130s every game.”
Cleveland’s offensive rebounding strategy was also addressed. Atkinson explained the balance between crashing the boards and transition defense: “Still want to go to the boards, still part of our philosophy… we’re losing too many of the sprint battles.” He added that Chicago’s speed and transition play were difficult to counter, noting, “This style of play has hurt us this year.”
Rookie Tyrese Proctor made his first NBA start, contributing 16 points, and Nae’Qwan Tomlin added 15 off the bench. “Tyrese… really good, great energy… Nae’Qwan, typical Nae’Qwan energy… doing all the little things,” Atkinson said. He considered using them in the closing lineup but ultimately trusted his veterans.
Atkinson reflected on the team’s overall performance: “I liked our camaraderie. I loved our spirit on the bench… we didn’t put our heads down… DG was leading it.” Despite scoring 125 points, he lamented missed opportunities on rebounds and defensive stops: “Score 125 points, that should be enough… but we couldn’t come up with the boards.”
The coach also took responsibility for individual struggles. “I always look at if a guy’s struggling… I put a lot on myself,” Atkinson said of Garland’s performance, noting adjustments in the second unit could help him reach his potential.
Atkinson identified a broader challenge in the Eastern Conference: “Speed drive teams… hurting us in transition, hurt us with drives… definitely something we got to look at.” He remained optimistic, citing past adjustments against fast teams like Indiana. “It takes experience, takes games to kind of feel this pace… I don’t have a major concern that we can’t slow teams down like this.”
The Cavaliers drop to 15-14 with the loss, while Chicago improves to 12-15, claiming back-to-back wins for the first time since November 19. Cleveland will host the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, looking to integrate key players back into the rotation and tighten defensive execution.
