The Cavaliers’ rough start has put Kenny Atkinson in a tough spot, and the list of issues he has to untangle is already pretty clear. A 5-6 record has the Cavs staring at a season that could go sideways fast if the problems don’t get fixed, especially with the Eastern Conference looking stronger than it did a year ago.
Some of what’s gone wrong is out of Atkinson’s hands, but not all of it. Injuries have been a major hit, and the wing spot has taken the biggest punch. Peyton Watson and Jaylon Tyson have both missed significant time, which has forced Atkinson to lean more on guards and play with a smaller lineup than he probably wants.
That injury mess has also fed into a bigger issue: the rotation just hasn’t settled. The core four are there, but beyond that, the mix keeps changing.
The guard group has been especially crowded, with three young players who have all shown well early in the season. Even so, Atkinson still has to decide who belongs in the nightly mix and then stick with it.
Once the roster gets healthier, that should help him stabilize the lineup and patch the hole at wing, but he still has to commit to the guys he believes in.
Then there’s the James Harden problem, which is hard to ignore. Harden flashed plenty right after the trade from the Clippers, but that production has disappeared this season.
He ranks 93rd out of 94 players in field goal percentage among those with at least 100 shots, and his 36.4% mark from the field is a career low. That kind of efficiency has hurt the Cavs badly.
The question now is what Atkinson and the organization do next. Harden is on a three-year extension, and with his age, his trade value is close to nothing. That leaves the Cavs with two paths: figure out how to get Harden back to playing like Harden, or consider pulling him from the rotation altogether.
The numbers since he signed his 3-year $97M contract with the Cavs tell the story of the slide: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 33% FG; 7 points, 5 assists, 22% FG; 17 points, 6 rebounds, 36% FG; 19 points, 9 rebounds, 31% FG; 14 points, 4 rebounds, 50% FG; 13 points, 6 rebounds, 50% FG; 24 points, 5 rebounds, 50% FG; 16…
For Atkinson, the path forward is about solving what he can control. The injuries, the rotation, and Harden’s role all sit at the center of the Cavs’ early-season problems. If those pieces don’t move in the right direction, contention will stay out of reach.
In Other News...
Cavs Already Facing Heat Over Their James Harden Bet
The Cavaliers brought James Harden back on a three-year, $97 million deal after their run to the Eastern Conference Finals, betting that his shot creation and playoff pedigree would help keep them in the conferences top tier. Instead, the early portion of the 2026-27 season has been choppier than expected, with Harden still producing offense but not at the level Cleveland envisioned when it committed that kind of money in the offseason.
Through 12 games, the fit has already become a talking point as Harden has struggled to find the same efficiency and consistency that made the move look so appealing in the first place. Cleveland sits at 6-6 and sixth in the East, which is hardly a disaster this early, but it is enough to make the Harden decision feel like one the Cavaliers will be asked about until he starts looking more like the player they paid for. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Suddenly Have A Sam Merrill Decision Fans Didn't Expect
Sam Merrill has quietly become one of the more useful two-way pieces on Clevelands roster, the kind of wing who can help in a lot of small but important ways when the Cavaliers are trying to round out a rotation. Even with the depth the team has at that spot, Merrills rise has made him more than just a fill-in option, and that has created a real decision point for a front office that has to balance present value with future flexibility.
The complication is that Merrill is still working through an elbow injury that has affected his shooting, which makes the timing of any evaluation tricky. Cleveland would like to see his performance rebound as he gets healthier, but interest from other teams has only sharpened the question of whether the Cavaliers should hold onto him or explore moving him while his market remains active. [Read more 🡒]
Why Mark Price Still Means So Much To Cavaliers Fans
The Cavaliers have long kept Mark Price in a special place in their history, and the franchise made that official on Nov. 13, 1999, when it retired his No. 25 jersey during halftime of a game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Price became only the sixth player in team history to receive that honor, a reminder of how deeply his steady play and professional approach still resonate with Cleveland fans.
The ceremony carried the kind of old-school weight that fit Price perfectly, with Wayne Embry and Bobby Cremins on hand to speak about his impact. He was also presented with a piece of the old Richfield Coliseum floor, a symbolic touch that tied his Cavaliers legacy to one of the franchises most memorable eras. [Read more 🡒]