Dribbles: Cavs Revving Up Engine, Ready To Go, But Kenny Atkinson Wants Longer Look Under Hood

October 16, 2024

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 108-92 preseason road loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.

1. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for the preseason to be finished. Thankfully, the Cavs only have one more game to go before the real thing begins.

2. I actually thought about making the drive to Detroit and going to this game. A lot of people talked me out of it. I’m now sort of glad they did.

3. That has nothing to do with the Cavs’ performance, but the more preseason basketball I see, the more I realize that it really means so little. What can we take from this one? Well, the starters look pretty good, pretty comfortable, and ready for something more than a mid-October exhibition game.

4. As one (non-Cavs) veteran once told me: “You know those pickup games where everyone is just sort of messing around and not really taking things too seriously? That’s what the preseason is for guys who already know their roles. It’s really just for the people who want minutes or are trying to make the team.”

5. The fact that the Cavs are 0-3 in the preseason tells you everything you need to know. If these games counted, they’d probably be 3-0, or 2-1 at worst.

6. OK, on to what we saw, and when it comes to the starters, you again had to like it. After falling behind by 10 points early, the Cavs went on a major run, mostly behind Donovan Mitchell (who else?) to take the lead and make this a fairly entertaining first half. Or at least part of the first half.

7. Mitchell finished with 13 points, Jarrett Allen had 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, Evan Mobley scored 10, and Darius Garland went for nine points and six steals. They all looked solid or better. Max Strus (hip contusion, day-to-day) again sat out, with Caris LeVert (six points) starting in his place.

8. Meanwhile, the bench wasn’t very good, with only Ty Jerome (eight points) doing anything that resembled steady play. Most of the other reserves were all over the place. That’s not an insult. It’s just the way it goes at this time of year, with a lot of regulars playing with some guys who won’t make the team. It can be … well, uneven.

9. Coach Kenny Atkinson to reporters, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com: “I know we can play better than that. Didn’t like how we started the game and didn’t like how we started the third quarter. Our decision-making wasn’t great.”

10. Yes, this marked the Cavs’ first meeting with former coach J.B. Bickerstaff, and there were reportedly plenty of handshakes and hugs before the game.

11. Just like I suspect Atkinson will do with the Cavaliers, Bickerstaff is going to make the Pistons better. They added some nice veterans (Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley, etc.) to their young cast. Cleveland fans will get a close look at them right away, as Detroit comes to town for the home opener on Friday, Oct. 25.

12. Before tipoff, Serena Winters of Bally Sports reported that Atkinson said the hardest thing to stop is a team that can play efficiently at three speeds. “He likened it to three gears,” Winters told the audience. “One, the autobahn. Two, when you’re in the neighborhood and you’ve gotta drive a little slower. And three, when you get in the city, you’d better be able to execute, parallel park and not bump into the guy in front of you.”

13. The hardest thing about it is knowing when to use each of those three speeds, Atkinson said, via Winters.

14. The Cavs are still figuring that out, but based on the three preseason games, the starters look ready to take the wheel. I’m ready to watch them do it. I bet you are, too.

15. On that note, only one of these exhibitions remains — Friday at Chicago. The Cavaliers then begin the real thing on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at Toronto. This season will be interesting in the sense that, as tight as the race is expected to be in the East, every one of the 82 games truly matters.