Between 1970 and 2024, the Cleveland Cavaliers had never won 15 consecutive games. However, in Kenny Atkinson’s first season at the helm, they’ve already done it twice. After a thrilling comeback win over the cellar-dwelling Brooklyn Nets, the Cavs are amid their second franchise record-setting winning streak this season.
In Tuesday night’s affair, the Cavaliers were led by Darius Garland and his 18 points in the final frame. The Cavs are still playing a quality of basketball that not many thought was possible for them when the season began. After they began the season on a red-hot 15-0 start, there was reason to believe that they’d cool down.
Fifty games later, the team with the NBA’s best record is obliterating every obstacle in their path. When Atkinson was asked his thoughts about the Cavaliers winning 15-straight games for a second time this season, Atkinson was honest about the impact of two 15-game winning streaks on the Cavs’ confidence.
“To do it at this juncture of the season, with fatigue and people trying to knock us off, it’s quite an accomplishment. We’ll look back at this someday.” Atkinson said to reporters, per Sam Amico.
Leading scorer Donovan Mitchell missed the Cavs’ most recent contest to rest a sore left groin, and it still didn’t matter. However, throughout the Cavaliers season, Mitchell has been integral. At the beginning of this season, Cleveland’s hot start could be dismissed as a vastly improved team that caught the league off guard. A balanced scoring attack led them to a win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. They overcame a 25-3 deficit on the road against the Celtics.
However, Atkinsons’s modifications are sticking like sweaty skin on hot leather. Cleveland currently boasts the NBA’s highest offensive rating this season and the second-highest in league history. Atkinson hasn’t just sat on his hands as the Cavs stars have carried the load.
Atkinson’s candidacy for Coach of the Year isn’t thriving just because of Mitchell or Evan Mobley defending like a frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year/ It’s because he’s put in work giving life to this previously lifeless Frankenstein of a team. He’s toyed around with three-guard lineups featuring Ty Jerome, Donovan Mitchell, and Darius Garland. He’s replaced 7-foot-2 Jarrett Allen with 6-foot-8 DeAndre Hunter at center in closing lineups. However, starting out the season in pole position and remaining there throughout the season has imbued them with a fresh sense of self-belief.
Sitting eight games over the defending champions with 17 games to go almost assures Cleveland will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Everything else is just a cherry on top for a group that hasn’t experienced much playoff success yet. However, every record-shattering winning streak this late in the season shrinks those seeds of doubt just a bit more each time as their self-confidence gets an incremental boost.
