'Not Great:' Cavaliers Head Coach Reacts To Game Plan In Celtics Loss

Kenny Atkinson explains what he wishes he would've done differently in the Cleveland Cavaliers' loss to the Boston Celtics.

Nov 19, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Evan Mobley (4) defends (0) drives to the basket while Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) defends during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images / Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers finally suffered their first loss of the season. At some point, their historic winning streak would end, and it was the Boston Celtics who snapped it on Tuesday night.

One of the main takeaways from this loss was Cleveland's offense, which was uncharacteristically inefficient for this season's standards.

The Cavaliers shot just 49 percent (46-for-93) from the floor and 34 percent (10-for-29) from behind the arc, with most of that production coming in the second half.

Kenny Atkinson admitted after the game that their offensive strategy against the Celtics was "not great."

"It's not on the players. It's a game plan, too," said the Cavaliers coach after the game.

"I feel that's a little bit on me, maybe not prepared enough for what they were throwing at us. We adjusted in the second half. Especially that big second quarter [from Boston] was too much to overcome."

Evan Mobley was one player who Atkinson particularly regrets not getting involved early enough in the game.

"That's part of the strategy miss on my part. We did not get [Mobley] involved in the first half," admitted Atkinson.

"We kind of played their game - pick up game, iso game. Evan didn't touch it. We made the adjustments in the second half, and you can see that he can punish switches. So, we've got to keep looking at that because that's going to be the playoff teams switching on him."

Mobley finished the game with 22 points, but only eight came in the first half. Finally, Cleveland's star forward began to establish himself in the second half, and his success coincided with a Cavaliers run, which brought the team within two points in the fourth quarter.

Oct 26, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) dribbles the ball up the court against the Washington Wizards during the third quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

Despite the loss, the Cavaliers nearly overcame a 21-point deficit while missing four key rotation players.

Cleveland and Boston will see each other again in two weeks, and it already looks like Atkinson is learning from his mistakes from their first meeting of the season.

Their second matchup will be just as big of a test for this Cavaliers squad.