Atkinson isn’t reinventing the wheel

Defense was the main focus on the first day of training camp.

Kenny Atkinson’s first training camp with the Cleveland Cavaliers opened up Tuesday at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. Here’s what we can take away from day one.

Atkinson’s staff isn’t trying to fix what was working

Atkinson was hired to modernize a stubborn offense that was less than the sum of their parts. He wasn’t brought in to revolutionize what has been one of the best defenses in the league. Atkinson wants to make sure the defense stays that way.

“[We want to] keep leaning on our defensive identify,” Atkinson said. “We kind of doubled down on that today. I think the guys were expecting all of this offense and a big offensive day, and I’d say 70% of the day was reinforcing that that’s still our identity.”

The defense has indeed been this team’s identity. They’ve ranked no worse than sixth in defensive rating the last three seasons.

“I don’t know how it is being a head coach, but I feel like you can’t come in and change the team’s identity,” Jarrett Allen said.

Atkinson isn’t trying to do that. He knows who this team is.

“When you look at a team, the first thing you do is, [figure out] their number one strength,” Atkinson said. “I think to go away from that is a mistake. . . . And then [we want to] build the offense bit by bit. I don’t want to lose that identity. We’re going to double down on that.”

Offensive rebounding is a priority

Atkinson has brought up offensive rebounding a few times unprompted. He did so again after practice on Tuesday by saying it’s an area he wants to see the team improve in.

The Cavs have been a below-average offensive-rebounding team. They ranked 22nd in offensive rebounding percentage (25.5%) and 16th in second-chance points per 100 possessions (13.8 points) last season. Cleveland hasn’t been able to get the perceived benefits of their two-center lineups on the offensive end. Atkinson wants to see that change.

“A part of this is personnel-based,” Atkinson said. “When the Cavs went on that great run last year, [Allen] was a monster on the offensive board. Evan [Mobley] could be. He could be more active on the offensive board. Obviously, Isaac [Okoro] as a cutter, slasher, offensive rebounder.”

Mobley and Okoro have been at the center of the offense’s spacing concerns. Increasing offensive rebounds doesn’t make up for a lack of spacing, but it does help turn a disadvantage into a slight advantage. Your defender can’t box you out if they’re ignoring you in the half-court. This is something Mobley and Okoro should be doing more of given how teams currently treat them on the perimeter.

Atkinson acknowledged that this can’t come at the expense of the defensive side of the court. They will need to be strategic about how they go about increasing their offensive rebounds.

Atkinson wants Mobley to push in transition off of rebounds

Having Mobley grab and go off of defensive rebounds was an emphasis last year. Atkinson once again reiterated that he wants to see Mobley do this more often this season.

“I would say the rebound and push is number one,” Atkinson said when asked about what he wants to see Mobley add to his game first.

This is all an effort to get Mobley more comfortable handling the ball. Atkinson pointed out that the spacing concerns are neutralized somewhat when you only have one big playing off-ball. This is something Allen liked to see from Mobley as well.

“We had him handling in the pick-and-roll and had somebody else set the ball screen,” Allen said. “It just opened up the floor so much. I’m in the dunker’s [spot], he’s at the top of the key. Usually, it’s one or both of us in the paint, clogging up the paint. Now it feels like there’s a lot more room for us to work with.”

Becoming a better shooter is the simplest path to create more space. Mobley’s shot did look better on Monday which is encouraging. However, becoming a better shooter isn’t Atkinson’s goal. He wants Mobley to be a complete basketball player.