Kenny Atkinson has worked wonders with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only has he improved their on-court production, he’s also solved how to get the best out of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Both the guard and big man duo have legitimate overlaps in their skill sets.
After completing a 64-win season that included two separate 15-game winning streaks, the Cavaliers enter the playoffs as the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference. Those achievements have led Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report to predict that Atkinson will win the Coach of the Year award in the coming weeks.
“First, he absolutely smashed expectations, which is often important for COY winners. And it’s not like there was a low bar for him to clear,” Bailey wrote. “Cleveland’s preseason over-under was 48.5, and the Cavs have sailed past 60 wins. He quickly (presumably before the season even started) figured out how to effectively stagger both the minutes and responsibilities of seemingly overlapping talents like Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland at the guard spots and Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen inside.”
The Cavaliers are in a strong position to make a push for the NBA Finals. However, they appear destined for an Eastern Conference Finals showdown with the Boston Celtics. The reigning champions won’t be an easy out. As such, Atkinson’s team must continue improving as the playoffs progress.
Cavaliers Learned From Celtics Loss Last Season
The Celtics eliminated the Cavaliers in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs last season. During a recent interview with DJ Siddiqi of RG, Garland detailed what his team learned from that playoff series.
“The possessions really slow down, the possessions lessen in the playoffs, so you really have to take care of the ball, really have to rebound the ball on the defensive end and try to get some easy ones,” Garland said. “Because it’s really tough to score in the half-court during a playoff series. Just getting a couple rounds under our belts has really helped us, especially last year going against Boston. I think that really flipped the switch in our head just to be ready to play all games, be ready for the physicality and really just take care of the ball on the offensive end, trying to get a shot or rebound every possession.”
The Cavaliers are a significantly better team this year. As such, the Celtics are unlikely to secure such an easy path to victory. Boston won last season’s series 4-1.
Cavaliers Have a Plan for the Celtics
During a separate interview with Siddiqi, which appeared on Forbes, Garland admitted that Cleveland is already putting a plan in place to slow down the Celtics.
“We really have to get out on their shooters, try to limit Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as much as we can,” Garland said. “I know their two superstars are going to really try to get off against us and try to try to bully us and get as many points as they can. We really have to take away Payton Pritchard, Derrick White and Al Horford. Just trying to limit their threes and some of their points and their easy points as much as we can — just try to let those two guys beat us.”
Atkinson deserves the Coach of the Year award for his achievements this season. However, that doesn’t guarantee the Cavaliers will be successful in the post-season. Nevertheless, a trip to the conference finals is solid progress for this franchise. Regardless of what happens against the Celtics, this is a season Cavaliers fans can be proud of.
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