Cavs Go Scoreless in Overtime Loss to Hornets, Raising Questions About Atkinson’s Rotations
In a game that started with promise and ended in frustration, the Cleveland Cavaliers made the wrong kind of history Sunday night. Their 119-111 overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets wasn’t just a tough one-it marked the first time since 2015 that an NBA team failed to score a single point in an overtime period.
But it wasn’t just the final score or the opponent-one of the league’s bottom-feeders-that made this loss sting. It was how it all unraveled.
Despite a visibly exhausted lineup, head coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t make a single substitution during the five-minute overtime. No fresh legs.
No tactical adjustments. Just the same five players who had clawed their way back into the game, left to run on fumes while Charlotte surged ahead.
This from the same coach who’s emphasized “experimentation” and “flexibility” since the start of the season. Who’s talked openly about the importance of finding the right combinations to elevate his players’ strengths. But when the game tightened, that philosophy disappeared-again.
It’s not the first time this has happened. A similar rigidity showed up during last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals against Indiana. And now, in the middle of a long regular season, it’s rearing its head against a team Cleveland should’ve handled.
Take rookie Tyrese Proctor, for example. He brought a jolt of energy at the start of the fourth quarter, helping fuel the Cavs’ push into overtime.
Then? He was glued to the bench for all of OT, even as the team’s energy levels clearly dipped.
Thomas Bryant chipped in with 10 points and 6 boards in just 14 minutes. His physical presence and activity stood out-but he was nowhere to be found when the game was on the line.
Instead, Dean Wade stayed in at center, battling bigger bodies and showing clear signs of fatigue. Wade’s effort was commendable, but asking him to anchor the frontcourt in crunch time without help was a tall order.
And then there’s De’Andre Hunter, who struggled mightily with just 4 points on 1-of-7 shooting. When asked about Hunter’s fit and potential lineup tweaks, Atkinson gave a vague response: “I look at it like it’s on me to find the combinations.
Right now, we’re not finding the combinations that fit him best. Everything’s always on the table, so we’ll look at it.”
It’s an answer that sounds more like a placeholder than a plan. And it reflects a larger issue-an indecisiveness that’s beginning to define Atkinson’s in-game adjustments. He talks about flexibility, but the rotations suggest a coach leaning heavily on habit over feel.
Young guard Craig Porter Jr. is another example. His minutes continue to fluctuate dramatically, and he’s operating on what feels like a short leash.
One mistake, one slow shift, and he’s out. No chance to recalibrate or fight through it.
Just a quick hook and a long night on the bench.
Atkinson defended his decision to go small with Wade at the five, saying: “We all just felt like we needed to go small, we needed to space the floor. And Dean can hold his own at the 5, obviously. I thought he did a heck of a job, really, that lineup kind of got us back in the game.”
That’s fair to a point-Wade did help Cleveland claw back-but ignoring the toll of heavy minutes and the available reinforcements on the bench is a tough sell. In overtime, energy matters.
Fresh legs matter. And the Cavs had options.
With Evan Mobley still sidelined and December’s schedule offering little room to breathe, how Atkinson manages his rotation moving forward could be the difference between staying in the playoff mix or slipping into the Eastern Conference’s crowded middle tier.
The Cavs have talent. They’ve got depth. But if the bench remains underused and flexibility continues to vanish in crunch time, nights like this one in Cleveland might become more common than they should be.