Kenny Atkinson, Cavs tip cap to Raptors after grueling series: ‘Gave us all we could handle’

The Cleveland Cavaliers are moving on in the NBA playoffs after defeating the Toronto Raptors 114-102 in Game 7 at Rocket Arena. Besides showering Jarrett Allen with a ton of praise, the Cavs as a whole tipped their cap to their adversaries after a grueling first-round series, starting with Kenny Atkinson.

“Before we start, I just want to really credit the Raptors,” Atkinson prefaced his postgame press conference. “Darko [Rajakovic] and his staff did an unbelievable job. They gave us all we could handle. That’s a heck of a team over there, and they’ve got a bright future. They confirmed who we thought they were all season. So just respect — respect for their coaching staff, that group of players over there.”

“Hats off to Toronto,” Max Strus added. “They were really good. I think people don’t know how good of a basketball team they are, but I’m proud of our group.”

Entering the series as a heavy favorite and starting with a 2-0 lead, Cleveland got a run for its money and then some from Toronto. Thinking about the endings of Game 4 and Game 6, that could’ve driven any team to the brink of self-doubt.

To the Cavs’ credit, as ugly as it looked and disappointing as it was, they collected themselves and found a way to respond twice when the momentum shifted.

“Give Toronto credit,” James Harden said. “They’re a really good team, especially defensively. They get after you, they swarm to the basketball, they create turnovers, and get out in transition. They just do things different. It was very effective.

“So, throughout this entire series, it wasn’t going to be easy. We won the first two games at home. We had an opportunity in the first two quarters of Game 3, Game 4, the same thing. And then, even in Game 6, it just didn’t go our way. But we didn’t quit, and this is our story. ”

That doesn’t mean they played their best basketball by any stretch of the imagination, but at this time of year, it’s about finding a way to survive and advance.

“This was a tough series, and it could get tougher,” Evan Mobley said. “So, to be tested already and battle tested like that, it’s going to be beneficial in the long run, I think. Right now, we’re gonna celebrate the win and get refocused and come out ready for the next game.”

“It took everything out of everybody,” Strus added. “Everybody needed to step up and do their job, and everybody did that tonight. Everybody came in, played with one thing on their mind: to win the game. We did that.”

Last postseason, the eighth-seeded Miami Heat didn’t present nearly the same challenge as the fourth-seeded Raptors did in the opening round.

“I think this series galvanized us,” Atkinson said. “When you have to… their physicality, their speed, their athleticism, things weren’t perfect. And we kind of know the difference. Last year, we kind of had an easier series. These types of series, they build you up. And I’m glad we went through it. It wasn’t fun. But I think we will be a better team coming out of it.

“I think how the other series went, our rhetoric, this is how it goes. Internally, it’s different because, not to be arrogant about it, but we’ve been in this league. We know how hard this league is. We knew the parity in the Eastern Conference, especially. It’s kind of like business [as usual], and no one’s like, ‘Man, we should be killing them.’ There’s none of that. I think that speaks to the humility of the group and the understanding, the perspective of our group, but also the organization.”

The Cavs should be better off for it, and it should serve as a boost, knowing that, at their best, they can fall back on their habits to ultimately push them to victory.

“Even tonight, we started off the game, [Jarrett Allen] missed the dunk. Never seen that before,” Donovan Mitchell said. “I missed two open threes, Ev throws one off the backboard. We have some turnovers, like silly turnovers. We just stay calm and cool throughout. Understand we’ve been here before. That was what I’ve been saying all season… That’s something that you wouldn’t see if we win in four, win in five. Not to say that’s a bad thing, it’s just certain things when you don’t face certain challenges, you don’t know what you’re capable of, you don’t know where you pull from.

“Last year, we got met with resistance against Indiana, and all year was pretty much… I don’t want to say it was easy, but we were winning by 15, and then different scenarios, so it’s definitely a great mental push. But just because we went through this mental push doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed anything coming up. We’ve still got to find a way to continue to be a collective and go from there.”

Atkinson considers this kind of triumph a “cleansing” of sorts for Cleveland. Though it happened as early as the first round of the postseason and could be seen as an indictment of the group, it could also be what perpetuates their next mission.

“I’m proud of our team,” Strus said. “Overcoming adversity, losing, coming back from it, showing some toughness, showing some character, showing some resilience. I think it’s going to be awesome for us to go through that, now that we’ve gotten through it.

“We know what it takes to get over the hump, and I think it’ll be better for us in these next rounds.”

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