Kenny Atkinson under pressure

At the beginning of this regular season 2025/26. and after injuries and transfers from one side to another, the Eastern Conference was considered wide open. However, with two favorites to play in the conference finals, so potentially in the finals: Cleveland and New York.

If the Knicks assume their status, with their second place behind Detroit, while they have won the NBA Cupfor the Cavaliers, it’s much more complicated. With a very average 15-14 record and seventh place in the standings. As a reminder, during the last financial year, Kenny Atkinson’s men lost just 18 matches…

Since then, things have started to turn around in Ohio. Journalist from Plain DealerChris Fedor explained that he did “spoke to two sources very close to the situation and well informed” and that the owner of the franchise, Dan Gilbert, was “extremely unhappy with what he sees”. Especially at home where the team suffered a series of setbacks to the boos of their home crowd.

After a great 2024/25 regular season, the Cavaliers are now very ambitious and the group is worth as much as $231 million in salary! It is obvious that, for now, Dan Gilbert is not worth his money.

The gap with the top of the East has not been created

for his part, Mark Stein points out that the pressure will be “increased” around Kenny Atkinson. The architect of last season’s success, he is now responsible for a complicated start to the season for his troops. However, if the owner doesn’t hide his anger, he made the former Warriors assistant hire in 2024 ahead of James Borrego. So he wouldn’t want to push the button first.

Especially since the season is still long and the group Cleveland (which could change the face) was not spared from injury. Darius Garland missed the start of the season, didn’t return until Nov. 5, and had already missed 16 games, when he Evan Mobley is out for ten days and will be for some time. Not forgetting the occasional absences of Jarrett Allen or Sam Merrill, as well as Max Struss, who has not yet played this year.

If the infirmary is emptied, Kenny Atkinson and the Cavaliers can still raise the bar in a big way given that the pace of the Eastern Conference is not exactly the most massive: they are only 2.5 wins behind Boston and the third place. So everything can go very quickly, provided we go back to last season’s basketball.