How the Cavs created a new identity on the glass against the Hawks without Jarrett Allen

Until the rebound was not Cleveland Cavaliers‘ strong suit for the start of the season, Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks should serve as a blueprint for how they should control the glass. Although the wine and gold technically lost the battle for the boards, the way the players secured them is what stands out.

There were six cavaliers who pulled down at least four rebounds. Today, it’s a possession game in the fast-paced NBA, and even if you’re not having your best day, the more scoring chances you give yourself, the better off you’ll be. Case in point: Cleveland snapped a two-game slide against the Hawks.

“You could argue that made the difference,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson he said after the 117-109 victory. “Our offense wasn’t great, we didn’t shoot it great, and we just attacked the offensive boards, especially in the second half. Lonzo (Ball). CP (Craig Porter Jr.) had a couple.

“We knew that was one of their weaknesses. I think they’re 29th in defensive rebounds coming into the game, so we really emphasized that in our scouting, our pregame. We kept telling them throughout the game, keep getting on the board with these guys.”

Cleveland outscored the Hawks 25-16 in the second half, scoring big in the fourth quarter, many of them coming on the offensive end.

While much of it had to do with Porter and Ball, seemingly everyone played a role in finding them. Donovan Mitchell even joked that he was fighting for them, but his teammates were determined to get to the stone. It’s helpful to everyone – especially Evan Mobley, Larry Nance Jr. and Thomas Bryant, with Jarrett Allen on the side with a broken left ring finger.

“Craig Porter is out here jumping people. Zoe, same thing,” Mitchell said after a 37-point night. “I can focus on boxing out Kristaps Porzingis, and I know our guards have our backs, right? Dean Wade is coming in there. It’s a group effort, and that’s what it’s going to take.”

“Super important,” Ball added. “We’ve been stressing that. Obviously, we haven’t been on the glass like we wanted to start the year, but it should turn around soon. We’re sending a lot of people to the glass, so just try to come up with the ball.”

Entering Sunday, the Cavs averaged the fifth fewest rebounds per game in the league (40.7) and ranked in the bottom half in rebounding percentage. They carried that reputation until the end of last year until Cleveland turned that story around by becoming one of the best rebounding teams in the postseason.

“We did a good job of that in the playoffs last year, and I said that after Boston,” Mitchell said. “It’s just a mental thing, you know? When I talk about the playoffs, it’s not physical. It’s nothing like that. It’s just mental, the desire every night, every possession. There’s a few that have been there, we’ve kind of let them have where it is as a mental (thing) where we want to get it.

“And I think you’re starting to see that, as a group, we do everything we can as a group. I think Dre had seven and Ev had eight. Larry had four. Zoe and Dean had six. Like, that’s what you want. D***, Craig had seven. That’s what you want as a group, to go in for each other.”

Cleveland has won just one glass game this year, against the Milwaukee Bucks in their first matchup.

If it is the offense will be ongoing while everyone is on the same page, then the team will have to make sure they get as many bites of the apple as possible. That was magnified when Allen came out.

The box score shows the Hawks outrebounding the Cavs in the paint, 60-34, but the home team took 20 more shot attempts and had a much different shooting profile; seeing 57 three-point attempts obviously isn’t ideal, and Atkinson knows it, but the math worked out with 20 threes made. It also helps that Cleveland forced 23 turnovers, resulting in 33 points.

Finishing the defensive possession is key to keeping opposing teams at bay, but Atkinson preaches hard about second-chance opportunities: “If we’re going to miss, we might as well go and get it on the boards, and that’s what we did. . . . It’s not just our bigs; we’ve got breakaway guards, and we’re happy with what we’re going to do. The rebounding is starting to pick up.”

“I think we kind of struggled early with our energy to the board, but we’re doing a better job now.