A day later, Kenny Atkinson remained firmly in James Harden’s corner.
No second-guessing his decision to stick with the veteran despite his issues defending Jalen Brunson in the Knicks’ wild comeback from 22 points down to win the opener of the Eastern Conference finals.
“One thing about James: I’ll just defend him,” the Cavaliers coach said Wednesday. “He’s a good isolation defender, always has been. He’s super smart. I said it [Tuesday] night, he has great hands.”
In fact, Atkinson was far more disappointed with Cleveland’s team defense — or lack thereof. Time and again, the Knicks targeted Harden in the pick-and-roll to get him to switch on to Brunson, and the superstar guard torched the Cavaliers for 17 of his 38 points in the final 12:39 of regulation and overtime.
In the fourth quarter, the Knicks were able to get Harden to switch on to Brunson for nine isolations that averaged 1.9 points per action, according to the “All NBA Podcast.” In a stretch when Brunson scored 11 straight Knicks points to cap an 18-1 burst, Harden was the primary defender.
“[Brunson] hit two or three really tough shots on him, but the baseline drive [that tied the game with 19.3 seconds remaining in regulation] where our low guy didn’t come over and get a contest, that is team defense. At this level, it’s team defense,” Atkinson said. “Sure, everybody’s putting it on James. A lot of it’s on the team, our team defense. … Sure, some of it was him, there were a couple of blow-byes. But again, I’d argue it was the team defense, too.”
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On a few occasions, the Cavaliers blitzed Brunson to get the ball out of his hands, but it resulted in open shots for other Knicks, which was also a major part of the comeback.
It has been an inconsistent postseason for Harden. While he is averaging 19.7 points and six assists, he is only shooting 31.8 percent from 3-point range on 7.1 attempts. He has also accounted for more turnovers than field goals in six different playoff games, including the series opener.
But Atkinson has vehemently defended him throughout, speaking to Harden recently about his belief in him.
“Without you, we’re knocked out in the first round,” the coach told him. “We’re in a great position, you’ve played great. Sometimes micro experiences get exaggerated. Keep being yourself.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
