Kenny Atkinson stood at the postgame podium on Sunday night and refused to dress up his team's first-round survival as anything other than what it was. The Cleveland Cavaliers, the East's number four seed, needed seven games to dispatch the fifth-seeded Toronto Raptors, and Atkinson made clear in his opening sentence that he believed the better team did not necessarily win.
"Just before we start, I want to really credit the Raptors," Atkinson said. "Darko 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 got a bright future. They confirmed who we thought they were all season, so just respect for their coaching staff and that group of players over there."
The series was a brutal departure from Cleveland's 2024 first round, when the Cavs swept their opponent in four games with the largest playoff series margin of victory in franchise history. Atkinson kept returning to the contrast.
"Last year we kind of had an easier series. These type of series, they build you up. I'm glad we went through it. Wasn't fun. But I think we'll be a better team coming out of it."
Atkinson said the series fundamentally changed his perception of his roster's ceiling. "This series galvanised us. When you have to deal with their physicality, their speed, their athleticism, things weren't perfect. We kind of know the difference now."
The night belonged to Jarrett Allen, the much-maligned center whose third-quarter explosion blew open a tied game. Atkinson called it the best he has ever coached the seventh-year big man.
"That third-quarter performance was the best I've seen him. Coached him a long time, known him for lots. It's the best I've seen him. The offensive rebounding then, the inside scoring, we needed someone else to step up besides James and Don. He was just absolutely incredible tonight."
Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland combined for just four turnovers in the second half after Cleveland coughed up 13 in the first half. Atkinson described the halftime adjustment in terms more typical of a regular-season practice than a Game 7 locker room.
"We watch film like we usually do. We knew we had to clean it up. My only thing is we got to make the extra pass. We got to make the simple pass. If we can do that simple thing, we're going to get out of this series. Second half, we'd have two or three turnovers. I knew if we cleaned that up, that was going to be a big key."
The Cavaliers advance to face the top-seeded Detroit Pistons, who completed their own 3-1 comeback over Orlando earlier in the day. Atkinson saw immediate parallels between the two teams. "A lot of similarities, physicality. We're going to have to be mentally and physically tough to beat this team. Number one seed, they've had a great year. They're the favourites. We go in there as underdogs, which is a challenge. It's going to be a similar series being able to handle their pressure, their rebounding, their force, their physicality. Hopefully this series prepared us for that."
Asked whether his team had found an identity through the seven games, Atkinson refused to claim victory beyond Sunday. "To be determined. We got a first-round victory and we were the favoured seed. We still got a lot to prove. We still got to take that next step. Happy with getting this series, but that'll be determined at a later point."
The veteran coach, finally pressed on whether national criticism of his team's three losses had stung, allowed himself one moment of bite. "I just never read your BS. You try to shut that stuff out. I'll read it in 10 years and probably come knocking at your door."
Game 1 against Detroit is Wednesday. Cleveland enters as underdogs against a team built much like the one they just survived.
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*Originally published on [NBA News Global](https://nbanews.global/article/cavs-raptors-game-7-kenny-atkinson-galvanised-pistons-next-2026). Visit for full coverage.*
