Cleveland radio host blasts Kenny Atkinson over Cavs Game 1 collapse originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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With 22 points lead and 7:52 left at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, the New York Knicks closed Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on a 44-11 run, including overtime, to steal a 115-104 win that has Cleveland’s fan base and local media questioning the choices made by the coach.
Among the loudest voices was Ken Carman of 92.3 The Fan, who unloaded on Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson over his refusal to call a timeout while the wheels came off.
“How do you not call a timeout? How do you not call a timeout? Any person who’s ever seen basketball. Ever seen a basketball, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley after the game on Inside the NBA, if you listen to The Warm-Up Show, they said they were begging the big screen, ‘Call a timeout!'”
Why Atkinson held his timeouts and what it could mean moving forward
The coach finished regulation with two timeouts unused in his pocket. He used one timeout during the entire Knicks run, and explained the decision by saying he likes to hold timeouts for one or two-point games at the end.
“How do you not call a timeout? He says he likes to save them, for what?.. Maybe (Harden) is out of gas, maybe you gotta do something differently, you’re the head coach.”
đ¨@KenCarman sounds OFF on #Cavs HC Kenny Atkinson https://t.co/onZ0E8Rsyfpic.twitter.com/GTiARYDOwE
â 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) May 20, 2026
Carman didn’t accept that logic.
“He says he likes to save them? For what? Did he like manifest it in some way? People like to envision. Imagine yourself hitting the shot. Did he almost will it into existence in his own way?” Carman said. “Like, well, it’s going to be a tight game. It’s like, no it’s not. It’s a 22-point lead. It’s not gonna be a tight game.”
“I don’t know. Maybe he is out of gas. Maybe you gotta do something differently. You’re the head coach of the basketball team,” Carman added.
The Cavs led 93-71 with Jalen Brunson scoring 15 points in the final seven and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. Brunson finished with 38 points and repeatedly hunted James Harden in defensive switches.
The Cavs needed back-to-back seven-game series against Toronto and Detroit to reach the conference finals, while the Knicks had a full week of rest after sweeping Philadelphia.