{"id":855088,"date":"2026-06-09T12:49:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T12:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/855088\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T12:49:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T12:49:39","slug":"cavs-final-report-card-kenny-atkinson-and-coaching-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/855088\/","title":{"rendered":"Cavs final report card: Kenny Atkinson and coaching staff"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Our season review of the <a href=\"http:\/\/fearthesword.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> continues with Kenny Atkinson and the coaching staff.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">As is the case with our postgame report cards, a \u201cB\u201d grade represents a player or group meeting the standard we expect from them.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"duet--article--unordered-list _1upudxki _1kyuonb0 _1mt21p01\">\n<li class=\"_1kyuonb1\">Regular season: 52-30 (-12 from last season)<\/li>\n<li class=\"_1kyuonb1\">Playoffs: 8-10 (+3 from last season)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Atkinson was dealt a rough hand this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fearthesword.com\/cavs-analysis\/50315\/cavs-report-card-koby-altman-cleveland-cavaliers-darius-garland-james-harden-donovan-mitchell-deandre-hunter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">front office\u2019s moves<\/a> last offseason didn\u2019t pay off. Trading Isaac Okoro for Lonzo Ball was a miss, as were the signings around the edges of the roster.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Additionally, injuries were a recurring issue throughout the year. Max Strus didn\u2019t play until the spring. Darius Garland missed the start of the season, and when he did return, he wasn\u2019t close to the All-Star version we saw the year before. The group also missed time from both Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Atkinson deserves credit for keeping this season on the rails. The group continued to be bought in, even during their slump, and were able to keep their heads above water. This could\u2019ve easily been a lost season.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"_19lkh3w1\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.fearthesword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/78\/2025\/11\/City.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=2,0,96,100\" data-pswp-height=\"1080\" data-pswp-width=\"864\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\"><img alt=\"\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"_8s7ip80\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/City.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01 nwhlgj7\">Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can also shop all of Homage\u2019s Cavs gear <a href=\"http:\/\/homage.sjv.io\/FTS\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">HERE<\/a>. The link to the new City Edition shirt can be found <a href=\"http:\/\/homage.sjv.io\/City25\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Then, Atkinson was forced to adapt again when they traded for James Harden.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Atkinson understands that this is a player\u2019s league first and foremost. He sacrificed his personal preference to fit the style that worked best with this group given the limited time left in the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The Cavs blended Harden\u2019s isolation system with some of the off-ball movement concepts we saw from them during their 64-win season. Making those adjustments on the fly with limited practice time is an incredibly difficult task, and not one many coaching staffs would\u2019ve succeeded in doing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The trades and the injuries resulted in the starting lineup they used most in the playoffs, only spending four regular-season games together. Yet, the Cavs were able to make it further in the playoffs than they have at any point since 2018. That\u2019s a remarkable achievement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">At the same time, Atkinson deserves criticism for some of their biggest losses in the postseason.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The adjustments in the first two rounds weren\u2019t as quick as they should\u2019ve been. Against the <a href=\"http:\/\/raptorshq.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Toronto Raptors<\/a>, he took too long to find ways to get the bigs involved. The Cavs weren\u2019t ready for the first two games against the <a href=\"http:\/\/detroitbadboys.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Detroit Pistons<\/a>, and he failed to get his group prepared for Game 6.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Atkinson also deserves a good portion of the blame for the disastrous Game 1 loss to the <a href=\"http:\/\/postingandtoasting.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New York Knicks<\/a>. He kept Harden on the court late, allowing him to get picked on by Jalen Brunson. By the time the defensive adjustment came, it was already too late. The offense ground to a halt. Atkinson couldn\u2019t find a way to get it jump-started down the stretch in the fourth, even after timeouts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The Cavs probably don\u2019t win the series if Game 1 ended differently. The Knicks are playing at an incredibly high level right now. But at the very least, Cleveland could\u2019ve made it a competitive series if they had held on to Game 1.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Figuring out how to balance the impressive regular season and frustrating playoffs is difficult for a project like this.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">On one hand, Atkinson showed that he can make the absolute best of a bad situation. He continually raised the baseline of a group that had no business winning more than 50 games with the amount of injuries, roster turnover, and off-years from the supporting cast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Simultaneously, he didn\u2019t elevate this group in the postseason. It never felt like the players were in the best position to succeed, and the adjustments came far too late, if they came at all. That is concerning for a group that wants to compete for titles over the next few seasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Overall, I\u2019m going to lean more positive. The playoff shortcomings don\u2019t happen if this season goes off the rails, as it could\u2019ve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Our season review of the Cleveland Cavaliers continues with Kenny Atkinson and the coaching staff. As is the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":855089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[40],"tags":[59345,1260,62,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-855088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-cavs-analysis","tag-nba","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116720237668982688","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=855088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}