NBA Notes: Cavs, Kenny Atkinson, Nets, Raptors, Scottie Barnes

October 24, 2026

Cavaliers

Kenny Atkinson saw the same thing everyone else did. The Sixers turned up the pressure, and the Cavs didn’t have a good enough answer.

“They upped their pressure and physicality. It was pretty clear. We did not handle it well,” Atkinson said after Cleveland squandered a 29-point lead in its season opener, via Zach Weiss of Sports Illustrated.

That’s a familiar problem for a team that spent the offseason trying to move past its playoff collapse against the Knicks. Atkinson, though, is treating this one as something his veteran group can learn from.

“These are great experiences. This is how you build character, how you build resiliency, how you figure things out,” he said. “I look at it as a positive; we’ve got a veteran team. We’ll bounce back and get ready for Brooklyn.”

The first half offered plenty to like. The second half reminded us that Cleveland’s best basketball doesn’t always survive an opponent’s pushback.

“We did some great things in the first half and played Cavs basketball, but then they really imposed their will,” Atkinson said.

The Cavs have heard plenty about responding to adversity. Against the Nets, they get another chance to show it.

Nets

The Nets have their own opening-night loss to put behind them. Doing so in Cleveland will require keeping Donovan Mitchell from getting comfortable.

Mitchell scored 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Sixers. As Sameer Kumar of Sports Illustrated notes, Brooklyn also has to contend with James Harden setting up Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley inside.

Julius Randle offered encouragement in the Nets’ loss to the Hornets, getting downhill and creating opportunities for teammates, including Michael Porter Jr. Brooklyn will need that combination while its young guards find their footing.

Egor Demin didn’t make a 3-pointer in the opener, while rookie Mikel Brown Jr. showed flashes in his debut. That leaves plenty for coach Jordi Fernandez to sort through against an experienced Cavs backcourt.

Raptors

The Raptors are 2-0, and they haven’t needed perfect basketball to get there.

Toronto beat the Wizards, 112-102, on Friday despite shooting 7-of-34 from three and getting eight turnovers from Scottie Barnes, who also led the team in scoring and rebounding.

The difference started on defense. The Raptors held Washington to four made field goals in the opening quarter and built a double-digit lead, as Jeremy Brener of Sports Illustrated detailed.

Winning on the road with that shooting performance is encouraging. Counting on doing it regularly would be asking a lot.

Next comes a Sunday visit to the Timberwolves, who are also 2-0. Toronto will want to bring the defense and leave a few of those turnovers behind.