Kenny Atkinson had a lot on his plate in year two with the Cavaliers, and for a while, he handled it well enough to push Cleveland into territory the franchise hadn’t reached in years. The problem was the finish. The regular season gave him plenty to work with; the postseason exposed the cracks.
Atkinson entered the 2024-25 campaign fresh off winning the NBA Coach of the Year award, but the challenge in front of him was bigger than celebrating a strong first season. He spent the offseason trying to get his group ready for a faster tempo and heavier workloads, while also making sure the younger pieces understood they would matter.
Jaylon Tyson, Craig Porter Jr., and Tyrese Proctor were all pushed to be ready for meaningful minutes. He also worked to build a stronger off-the-floor connection with De'Andre Hunter, and he made it clear that Evan Mobley was the centerpiece, calling him "the guy" and saying on a summer league broadcast that the seven-footer should be in the MVP conversation in a couple of years.
The early months were messy. Cleveland was hit by a wave of injuries, with Darius Garland dealing with separate toe setbacks, Jarrett Allen suffering separate finger fractures in both hands, Evan Mobley missing time with a strained left calf, and Sam Merrill sidelined by a right wrist sprain. Before the calendar flipped to the new year, the Cavaliers were 17-16 and stuck in the Play-In Tournament picture.
Once the roster started to stabilize, the season began to tilt Cleveland’s way. The young players got real chances, and some of them answered.
Tyson put together a breakout stretch, while Nae'Qwan Tomlin even made his mark on national television. The Cavaliers leaned into transition, trying to get downhill and score before defenses could get set, and that fit the faster, more athletic pieces on the roster.
But the team still wasn’t where it needed to be defensively, and the front office made a major move. De'Andre Hunter and Darius Garland were out, and Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis, and James Harden came in. That forced Atkinson to adjust again, this time shifting toward static spacing and more half-court play to suit Harden’s strengths.
The changes paid off in the standings. Cleveland closed the first half on a winning streak and reached 34-21 before the All-Star break.
After that, the Cavaliers went 18-9 in the second half and secured the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Considering half the games came with a different starting lineup, that’s a strong regular-season body of work.
The postseason, though, told a different story. Cleveland reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in eight years and for the first time without LeBron James since 1992, which is an achievement worth acknowledging. Still, the way the Cavaliers played in the playoffs left plenty of room for criticism.
Too often, they beat themselves. Turnovers piled up.
Free throws went missing. Offensive droughts showed up at the worst moments.
The perimeter defense slipped. Those problems kept surfacing in one loss after another.
Game 4 in Toronto was one example, and Game 6 was another, when RJ Barrett banked in a buzzer-beater to beat Cleveland. The issue wasn’t only the shot itself.
It was the fact that the Cavaliers had put themselves in position to be vulnerable. They did recover and win Game 7, with Jarrett Allen delivering an outstanding performance.
The second round brought another twist. Cleveland fell into an 0-2 hole against the top-seeded, inexperienced Detroit Pistons, then answered with three straight wins and looked like a team finding its edge.
But a home loss in Game 6 was a bad one, and even though the Cavaliers crushed Detroit in Game 7, the damage had already been done. That extra game mattered.
So did the two days of rest the Pistons got.
Then came the New York Knicks, who arrived with nine days of rest and made it count. Cleveland blasted out to a 22-point lead in Game 1 at Madison Square Garden, but it all unraveled from there. After that, the Knicks owned the edge, and they swept the Cavaliers in the East Finals.
Atkinson can’t play the games for them, but he does control the preparation and the feel of each night. The hindsight view is obvious now: Cleveland may have leaned too hard on players who were worn down by the time it reached the third round. A little more depth, maybe a little more youth, in the earlier rounds might have helped.
There was also a sense that the postseason approach became too rigid, too tied to process instead of the scoreboard in front of him. Atkinson is widely regarded as an inventive coach, but sometimes the moment calls for a break from the script. Cleveland didn’t seem to do that enough.
And in the end, the result was the same place the East has sent the Cavaliers before: right into the hands of the conference’s eventual champion.
In Other News...
Cavs May Have Found The Cheap Bench Spark They Desperately Need
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What makes Thomas especially intriguing is the scoring punch he brings. The Cavs have been looking for a bench player who can supply offense in a hurry since Ty Jerome left, and Thomas appeal is tied to the belief that he can grow into that kind of spark. For a team trying to keep its core intact while squeezing value out of the margins, that possibility matters just as much as any splashy addition. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs May Have Their Cheapest Answer To A Familiar Wing Problem
The Cavaliers have some room to operate this summer after James Harden declined his player option, and that flexibility could matter as they look for cheaper ways to patch a familiar wing issue. One possible path is a low-cost swing at Brooklyns Ziaire Williams, a young forward who would give Cleveland more size and athleticism on the perimeter without forcing a major cap commitment.
Williams has drawn interest because of the kind of value teams chase when the margins get tight: defense, length and enough two-way upside to justify a deeper look. For Cleveland, the appeal is also tied to Kenny Atkinsons development system, which has helped young players take steps forward, and to the possibility of adding another wing option in case Dean Wade ends up elsewhere in free agency. [Read more 🡒]
Larry Nance Jr's Cavs Return Created A Tough Frontcourt Decision
Larry Nance Jr.s return to Cleveland was supposed to add a familiar, useful piece to the frontcourt, a low-cost veteran on a one-year minimum deal who could help steady a bench that always needs dependable size. Instead, his comeback season never really got rolling, and the Cavaliers spent much of the year trying to get a read on how much he could still offer after an injury-hampered stretch that kept him from settling in.
Now the frontcourt picture is even murkier. Nance and Thomas Bryant are both headed for unrestricted free agency, leaving Cleveland to sort through its big-man depth with no clear answer yet on which pieces fit best for next season. For a team that values versatility and experience in the middle, it is the kind of decision that can quietly shape the roster well beyond the margins. [Read more 🡒]