NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates 
Last regular season was a step backwards for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They struggled through injuries and lacked much of the cohesion that made them a 64-win juggernauts the year before.
It’d be easy to blame Kenny Atkinson for last regular season being a disappointment. Many of the things that worked the previous year simply didn’t this time. The Cavs never established an identity, the offense struggled to find flow, and key players like Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter couldn’t find their place within the offense early on. All of those things reflect poorly on the coaching staff.
Advertisement
Despite that, I would argue that Atkinson did a much better job last season than he did when he won Coach of the Year.
Atkinson made the best of a bad situation. The Cavs had plenty of chances to throw in the towel but didn’t, thanks in part to Atkinson. They kept their heads above water until a trade came through to save their season.
Acquiring James Harden at the deadline for Darius Garland changed everything. Bringing in a talented and healthy point guard in Harden raised the Cavs’ floor and ceiling, making a deep postseason run possible. It also meant that they had to completely overhaul how they played just two months before the start of the playoffs.
Atkinson’s willingness to cede control of the offense to Harden’s heliocentric style allowed them to hit the ground running. Atkinson’s preferred motion-based offense that worked the year before was thrown out in favor of more traditional high pick-and-rolls.
Advertisement
This change allowed the Cavs to go from having the ninth-best offense in the league before the Harden trade (117.4 offensive rating) to registering the fourth-best (121.5 offensive rating) afterward.
Support us and Let ‘Em Know with Homage!
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can buy the Spida shirt HERE. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE.
Schematics and in-game adjustments aren’t the most important skills for NBA coaches; establishing trust with your players and getting them to buy into your vision is. Atkinson did that by putting his personal preferences aside to…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/cavs-season-preview-kenny-atkinson-140000851.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-09-21 14:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
