CLEVELAND, Ohio – In a Tuesday media session with team president Koby Altman, Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson pulled back the curtain on his vision for a team that’s been good – but not great enough when it matters most.
The conversation centered on what cleveland.com columnist Terry Pluto calls “the Indiana Factor” – the relentless, exhausting pressure that sent the Cavs packing in five games against the Pacers during last year’s playoffs.
“The Pacers got the ball over the half court line faster than anybody in the NBA, and threw more passes in once they got it over than anybody else,” Pluto said on the latest edition of the Terry’s Talkin’ podcast.
“In other words, they were moving. They not only pressured you on defense, they pressured you on offense.”
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This high-octane approach exposed Cleveland’s vulnerabilities, and while critics pointed to toughness, Atkinson sees a tactical challenge that requires reimagining how the Cavs play.
His first solution? Speed up.
“There’s also a lot of data that shows, generally, the earlier you shoot in the shot clock, the higher your percentages,” Pluto said Atkinson told him in a one-on-one conversation after the press conference.
Pluto said that Atkinson admitted a crucial mistake from last season – one he’s determined to correct.
“The mistake he made and he goes, ‘I’m going to really work on: Evan Mobley can handle the ball against some of that pressure,’” Pluto said.
“And he says, ‘We need to use him more.’ And he said, ‘That’s on me to … unlock different parts of Mobley’s game, not just shooting, but his ball handling.’”
While the 7-footer’s offensive development has typically focused on his shooting, Atkinson sees Mobley’s underutilized ball-handling as a potential answer to the high-pressure defenses that have plagued Cleveland.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for a franchise that has assembled an enviable core.
“They’re a team that in the last three years has won the most games except for Boston and Oklahoma City,” Pluto said. “And their average age of their core four is slightly under 27 years old. They should be in their prime for the next [few years]. And on top of that, all those guys in that core four are on multi-year contracts.”
This window of opportunity puts additional pressure on Atkinson to maximize the talent at his disposal. Beyond Mobley’s expanded role, he’s also emphasized the importance of secondary players like Jaylon Tyson, the second-year player Atkinson praised for playing “every possession like his life depends on it.”
The challenge now becomes translating these strategic adjustments into playoff success.
Listen to the full podcast to hear more about Atkinson’s vision, including why he believes the Cavs’ supporting cast of undrafted and second-round picks could be the X-factor in their championship pursuit.
Here’s the podcast for this week:
If you have a question or a topic you’d like to see included on the podcast, email it to sports@cleveland.com, and put “Terry’s Talkin’” in the subject line.
You can find previous podcasts below.