It took the Cleveland Cavaliers just 61 games to match their most wins in a season with Donovan Mitchell. Standing at 51-10, the Cavs are fighting for guaranteed homecourt advantage in every round of the postseason.
New head coach Kenny Atkinson revolutionized the Cavaliers; they use their versatility to greater impact under Atkinson than before. Cleveland's core four has a +11 Net Rating, one of the Cavs' best four-player lineups. Finding a path to maximizing a previously redundant core has placed Atkinson at the top of the Coach of the Year race, rightfully so.
All of this regular season success must translate in the postseason, though. Cleveland is putting together a historically-great season. Falling short of their lofty goals could leave them embarrassed across the Association with another round of wild trade rumors circulating all offseason.
With the league's top offense and a high-end defense, the Cavaliers are an elite two-way contender. It is clear the Cavs are real threats to sour the Boston Celtics' repeat dreams. Entering the playoffs, Atkinson's path to victory is painfully clear, breaking it into three key tenets.
Be proactive and bold
All season, Atkinson has been nothing if not fearlessly creative with his lineups. He willingly tests combinations of players, both orthodox and unorthodox like a mad scientist of coaching. These schemes have led to positive and negative results.
Before the trade deadline, Atkinson had broken the mold and began deploying three-guard lineups with Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell and Ty Jerome together. Three dynamic ball handlers typically causes congestion on offense, but this lineup is almost completely even in net rating over 50 minutes of action.
In the playoffs, the Cavs cannot experiment game-to-game as much, but Atkinson has undoubtedly gathered enough evidence to know his players and their best fits. Throughout the year, Cleveland has explored frontcourt combinations the most, going so far as to place Dean Wade at center and letting both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen rest.
Actually utilizing the versatility comprising this roster is Atkinson's greatest tool. Rather than reacting to his rival's counter attacks, Atkinson must predict and strike before the opponent has a chance to make a move. He has done this already, and with another big wing in De'Andre Hunter at his disposal, the results have been phenomenal. Atkinson has already played Hunter at the 2, 3 and 4 positions with a myriad of other Cavaliers next to him.
The unpredictability but reliability of the Cavaliers will be their calling card in the playoffs. Using it tactically will be the deciding factor between a deep run and a disappointing exit.
Zone defense is the Cavaliers' secret weapon
The majority of NBA basketball is man-to-man defensive coverage, allowing coaches to place their best defenders on the opposing team's best offensive weapons. With a lopsided starting five in terms of size, the Cavaliers have found significant success alternating between man coverage and zone defense.
Much like the Miami Heat, Cleveland makes quick changes to their defensive setup, seemingly in between just two possessions. Zone coverage not only covers for the undersized backcourt, but it also emphasizes the utility Mobley, Wade, Allen and Hunter provide. Each one is capable of guarding in the paint and then racing to the perimeter in just seconds while maintaining body control.
Rather than placing a lockdown defender on one player, the Cavs' zone locks down hot zones and driving lanes. Mobley often roams around a corner and the post, occasionally floating to the wing if necessary. Allen's intelligent defense makes him a perfect anchor in zone coverage and one the NBA's most underappreciated stars. Mitchell and Garland have made noticeable strides defensively in the past few years, allowing them to funnel players into more contested zones if they're beat on the dribble.
The postseason is a different beast than the regular season. Offenses are fine tuned, and gameplans are specifically tailored to that opponent. Atkinson can disrupt expectations and stagnate an opposing offense with his quick switch to zone.
Play inside-out on offense
With the league's best three-point percentage (39.3), the Cavaliers could realistically be viewed as a perimeter-centric squad. Their distribution is balanced but leans slightly in favor of two-pointers over the three. Currently 54.5 percent of the Cavs' field goal attempts come from within the three-point line, and they convert from within five feet at the fifth-highest rate (66.3) across the NBA.
Mobley's improvement as a floor spacer is imperfect but impactful. He is drawing defenders out of the paint, allowing the rest of the team to make backdoor cuts both as a chance to score inside and also to open up three-point opportunities for others. Additionally, the Cavs' full backcourt rotation is torching opponents from three now that the tandem of Mobley and Allen can work in unison on the post.
The Cavaliers do not need to rely on the three-pointer to win a game or series. The Celtics live or die by three, and while it won them a title, the Cavs have a more rounded offense. Even when the Cavs have shot subpar from deep, they have managed to pull out a win against tough opponents, including a 110-91 victory over the Detroit Pistons in which the Cavaliers shot just 27.3 percent from range.
A bad shooting night is not common for this Cavs squad, but their interior dominance makes their three-point chances that much more open. Rather than relying on the arc to open up the paint, Atkinson and the Cavaliers need to threaten defenses with post scoring, drives from Mitchell and company and quick passes down low.
In reality, no playoff blueprint can be perfectly laid out in one setting. Every game, every series will need its own agenda and gameplan. But, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a clear path to victory when dissecting how Atkinson has maximized his current pool of talent already.