Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has been named Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association.
This award is separate from the NBA’s Coach of the Year which will be announced later.
Atkinson replaced J.B. Bickerstaff as head coach in the summer and has orchestrated the Cavs’ surge to the top of the Eastern conference. The Cavs bettered their win total from last season by 16 to finish with the second-most wins in the league at 64.
This is Cleveland’s first 60-win season since 2009-10 and the first-ever without LeBron James on the roster. They will play the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
Bickerstaff received consideration for his work in helping elevate the Detroit Pistons to the playoffs this season and a 30-win improvement. Oklahoma City Thunder’s Mark Daigneault, and Houston Rockets’ Ime Udoka also received consideration. Former Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was amongst the candidates, too.
Malone was fired with just a week to go before the playoffs.
Cavs Set To Begin Title Chase
Cleveland learned of its first round opponent on Friday night after the Miami Heat became the first-ever 10th seed to advance from the Play-In Tournament to the playoffs.
On paper, a team that finished 64-18 in the regular season going up against a team that finished 37-45 is as lopsided as it gets. Regardless of their record, one can always expect a Miami team led by Erik Spoelstra to have a high level of compete and intensity. That doesn’t mean they’re a threat to win the series by any means, but that this could in fact be a very healthy way for Cleveland to get its postseason started.
The Cavs have been able to rest players like Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley in order to manage little aches and pains. Now is the time to be ready to go full throttle.
