Cavs’ Kenny Atkinson: 60 wins was never the goal but it sure is nice

CLEVELAND — For the third time, yes, the Cavaliers have won 60 games in a season.

That’s not the end game here, of course. But when you talk about a 60-15 record and the top spot in in Eastern Conference, with seven regular-season games to go … well, perhaps not even the Cavaliers expected all this.

 “I didn’t expect 60 wins,” coach Kenny Atkinson said after Sunday’s 127-122 home win over the LA Clippers. “My internal goal was, ‘Can we improve on last year?’ We can still add to that, it’s not the end goal — but we should take a breath and celebrate this. It’s hard to do in this league.”

For the record, this is the first time the Cavs have won 60 games in a season without LeBron James on the team. They finished 66-16 in 2008-09, the all-time franchise best, and 61-21 the season after that.

So we can assume these Cavs will finish with the second-best mark in the history of the franchise. They can still surpass or tie the best season, but that would mean a 7-0 or 6-1 finish. That’s asking a lot — even in a season such as this.

At some point, Atkinson is likely to give his main players more rest. He hasn’t said as much, but if the Cavs can secure the top seed in the East with a few games to go, they will certainly focus on health over everything else.

“The first priority is playing well and having everybody healthy (for the postseason),” Atkinson said. 

If the No. 1 seed in the East comes with that, then yeah, that’s the gravy. The Cavaliers are currently 4.5 games ahead of the reigning champion Boston Celtics for the top Eastern spot. 

As for Sunday’s game, as I wrote in Dribbles, the Core Four of Jarrett Allen (25 points, 12 rebounds), Donovan Mitchell (24 points, also 12 rebounds), Evan Mobley (22 points), and Darius Garland (19 points) was fairly masterful. You can check out the full recap here and watch the highlights here or directly below.