Despite veteran guard James Harden’s lackluster start to the regular season amid the Cleveland Cavs’ 5-6 record, is head coach Kenny Atkinson already on the hot seat after 11 games? A head coaching job is a fickle business in the NBA. What have you done for me lately is a question often asked by front offices on the verge of parting ways with a head coach.
But is it fair for the Cavs to blame Atkinson for their lackluster start? Not necessarily, as The Athletic’s Sam Amick noted.
“The Cleveland Cavaliers’ 5-6 start will inevitably increase the chatter surrounding Kenny Atkinson. But two major factors deserve the vast majority of the early scrutiny: the play of James Harden and new addition Peyton Watson,” Amick wrote.
“Harden’s scoring has plummeted so far; the 37-year-old who signed a three-year, $97 million deal in the summer [player option on the third season] is averaging just 15.3 points on 36.4 percent shooting overall [along with 5.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds, three turnovers per game and a plus-minus mark of negative-3.6]. Those scoring and assist marks would be his lowest since he became a full-time starter in 2012.”
When the Cavs traded for Peyton Watson to give head coach Kenny Atkinson a two-way threat on both ends of the floor, they expected the wing to take another leap in his development, which hasn’t materialized so far. If anything, his numbers have gone in the other direction, averaging 11.4 points on 40.6% shooting, including 21.6% from deep, and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Last season, Watson posted 14.6 points on 49.1/41.1/73.0 shooting splits and 4.9 rebounds in 54 games for the Denver Nuggets. At the same time, James Harden’s points and assists production have dropped to marks we haven’t seen from him in over a dozen years.
Sure, it’s still early, as we’re entering the fourth week of the 2026-27 NBA season. However, if the Cavs continue down this path, coach Atkinson’s days could be numbered as the team makes a desperate move to save their season.