So… maybe the Brooklyn Nets should have given Kenny Atkinson more time in March 2020 instead of succumbing to the stars and showing him the door.

If Cleveland’s historic start to this season has shown us anything, it’s that the 57-year-old who was fired by the Nets at the time — and who has put the Cavs to a remarkable 15-0 heading into their NBA Cup showdown in Boston on Tuesday — could have made basketball magic had his tenure not been unceremoniously shortened under pressure from players to bring in a new voice. His body of work had been strong to that point, with Atkinson guiding the Nets through some dark rebuilding days before leading them to an unexpected playoff berth in 2019.

You could argue that the Nets’ dysfunctional culture at the time would never have allowed Atkinson to truly make his mark, with the Kyrie Irving-Kevin Durant era hampered by a lack of synergy from top to bottom and, later, quite infamously after Atkinson, Irving’s extended absence due to his stance on the COVID-19 vaccine. Still, it’s worth remembering now that we’re seeing the full breadth of Atkinson’s acumen when given the right selection and a healthier dressing room climate.

If these Cavs can beat the Celtics (11-3) on the defending champions’ home floor, Cleveland will join the vaunted Golden State Warriors of 2015-16 as the only two teams to win more than sixteen games from the jump. That tidbit is also fitting considering the path Atkinson has taken after leaving the Nets.

While still an Atlanta Hawks assistant when the Stephen Curry-led Golden State team won a record 73 games before falling to Cleveland in the NBA Finals, Atkinson later spent three years (2021 to 2024) with the Warriors as a crucial assistant coach alongside Steve Kerr (including, of course, the 2022 title that the team celebrated on the Celtics’ TD Garden floor). As Atkinson discussed, the lessons he learned during that time have carried over into this Cavs experience. The movement, pace and creative use of the versatile personnel have all hinted at Golden State’s approach, with Atkinson’s Draymond Green-esque use of big man Evan Mobley topping that list.

So far, the Cavs are positioning themselves as a legitimate title contender.

• Second in net rating, with a rating of 11.5 trailing only Oklahoma City (11.7).
• First in offensive rating (122.1 points scored per 100 possessions), with Boston second (121.4); the Cavs were just 16th last season under former coach JB Bickerstaff.
• Seventh in defensive rating (110.7 points allowed per 100 possessions); last season they finished seventh (112.1).

The Cavs even won their first game of the season without Donovan Mitchell on Sunday, beating Charlotte 128-114 with the five-time All-Star resting and four Cavs (Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland and Mitchell’s fill-in starter, Ty Jerome). ) scored more than 20 points. Speaking of what-ifs, that’s the same Hornets organization that agreed to sign Atkinson to become their head coach in the summer of 2022 before he changed course and returned to the Warriors. As awkward as it may have been – and it certainly was – his choice seems like the right move these days.

Even if the Cavs’ streak against the C’s ends, this start bodes well for their chances of making the deep playoff run that has eluded them since Mitchell arrived three summers ago. All three previous teams to win more than fifteen games to start a season – the aforementioned Warriors, the 1993-94 Houston Rockets and the 1948-49 Washington Capitols – made the NBA Finals. The Rockets won it all.

For these Cavs, who signed Atkinson to a five-year contract on June 28 and offered Mitchell a three-year extension worth $150.8 million less than two weeks later, this is the next step in the post-LeBron James plan that didn’t work. always looks so promising. A well-deserved tip goes to general manager Koby Altman, who was elevated to the top front office role in the summer of 2017 (after being turned down by Chauncey Billups) and has been doing quality work ever since.

GO DEEPER

Undefeated Cavaliers are just beginning to pose a threat in the East

Jayson Tatum’s (latest) MVP case and the Celtics’ dominance

The Cavs’ winning streak is impressive, but let’s not forget the team that currently holds the Larry O’Brien Trophy. These Celtics, who have yet to play big man Kristaps Porziņģis due to a leg injury, are on a 64-win pace similar to what they did in the 2023-24 regular season. When you consider what happened next in the spring, when Boston lost just three times in nineteen tries in the playoffs en route to winning the eighteenth trophy, it is downright disrespectful to ignore the dominance that has been unfolding all along .

More specifically, give Jayson Tatum his early season flowers. After a summer with Team USA that saw his superstar status questioned in the eyes of some — fresh off his NBA Finals MVP miss that sparked a similar debate — Tatum has reminded the masses that this Celtics squad isn’t really without can fight him. Tatum is averaging a team-high 29.7 points (46.1 percent shooting overall; 38.1 percent from 3), 7.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game, as well as a plus- minus figure of 10.1 which also leads the team. This is a welcome contrast to his experience with the national team, while league sources say the five-time All-Star did not each really good days on the pitch – in training or matches – all the way up to the gold medal win over France.

In this era of transcendent heliocentric talents like Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it is harder than ever for a player of Tatum’s ilk to win MVP, because the Celtics share the workload more than the teams of the aforementioned candidates. . But Tatum has been special so far. The tone of the conversation around him should change with the prospect of Tatum earning the league’s top individual honor by the end of the season.

Unless, of course, Jokić somehow continues his ridiculous pace for the Nuggets: 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds (league high) and 11.7 assists (also a league high) per game. Not a bad start in the Joker’s bid to win his fourth MVP in the past five seasons.

About the demise of the Sixers and the memory it offers

It never ceases to amaze me how often we get it wrong in this industry.

I saw the Sixers fall again on Monday night playing with Joel Embiid And Paul George lost for the 11th time in 13 tries in a 106-89 loss to Miami, it was impossible not to think about all those preseason predictions that were so off the mark. Again.

Remember when Bucks landing Damian Lillard would propel them to the Finals again? Or when the Kevin Durant-Bradley Beal-Devin Booker Suns received similar projections? The examples are numerous, and the pontification on paper almost always falls short.

The Sixers landing George in free agency was the blockbuster move of the summer, and many pundits (including yours truly) believed it was a difference-making move that could make them legitimate title contenders again. But…here they are, with a record that, like The Athletics Mike Vorkunov didn’t put them on the kind of postseason circuit they had in mind.

The 76ers are 2-11. They are half a game better than the worst record in the NBA.

106 teams have started 2-11 or worse in NBA history; only 8 have made the playoffs. Only 3 of those had a winning record.

— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) November 19, 2024

Health issues among the Sixers’ top stars have certainly played a crucial role, but the team has hardly been a world-beater when they have been available. Embiid in particular looks like a shadow of his former self after working his way back from well-documented left knee management earlier this season. If you’re having hour-long postgame meetings to solve your team’s various problems before December arrives, as was reported, then it’s all bad.

And back to the Nets…

The trade deadline is still nearly three months away, but there’s a lot of talk about Brooklyn as the place for contending teams looking for upgrades when that crucial roster-building time finally arrives. League sources say the rebuilding Nets are expected to be open even with this competitive start (5-9; 20th in net rating) in which first-year coach Jordi Fernandez has made good use of the available talent.

Fourth-year shooter Cam Thomas (24.6 points per game) couldn’t agree to an extension and is widely considered available, but Brooklyn’s list of options hardly ends there. They have proven vets like Dennis Schröder and Bojan Bogdanovicć, who has yet to play this season due to left foot surgery but is on track for a return.

Big man Nic Claxton signed a four-year, $100 million extension last summer, but the reality of the Nets’ long-term plans means no one will likely be off the table. Cam Johnson showed the ability to produce for a contender during his tenure in Phoenix, and the 28-year-old small forward (16.9 points per; 38.1 percent from three on 7.5 attempts per) certainly remains intriguing for that type teams. You get the idea.

Nets general manager Sean Marks will have plenty of opportunities to get his bearings as this season progresses.

(Photo of Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell: Jason Miller/Getty Images)