Off-ball movement remains a priority for Mitchell and Cavs

Kenny Atkinson’s offense involves more than just shooting more threes.

Friday was a more intense day of camp for the Cleveland Cavaliers after a light workout Thursday.

“We did a lot of teaching yesterday,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We got after it [today] with controlled scrimmages.”

Let’s get into what went down on day four in Florida.

The Cavs are exploring adding split cuts into their offense

The Golden State Warriors have been known for their split actions and the triggers they create off of it. Atkinson wants to bring some of that over with him to Cleveland.

“In Golden State, we played with two bigs a lot with Loon [Kevon Looney] and Draymond [Green],” Atkinson said. “There are definitely some things that we can take.”

Mitchell talked about how this could create a new dimension to the offense.

“[It creates] a lot of indecision,” Donovan Mitchell said before describing the different ways the bigs and guards could attack off of it if they’re properly moving off-ball.

“We’re just introducing all this,” Mitchell said, “but we got a group that’s continuing to build, continuing to learn.”

Even though Cleveland doesn’t have Steph Curry or the rest of Golden State’s personnel, Atkinson believes that they can effectively run split cuts. Although he isn’t beholden to it being done the exact same way.

“That’s unique to the Warriors,” Atkinson said. “We’ve definitely done some breakdowns on it, but we got to see how that evolves. We got to see what sticks with this team.”

There’s more to offense than pick-and-rolls

The Cavs have spammed the high pick-and-roll with both bigs on the court the last few years. It worked better in 2021-22 than it did last season as more teams adjusted to it.

“I love the pick-and-roll,” Atkinson said. “It’s a big part of the NBA, but I think that there can be more of a balance.”

The Cavs are hoping they can instead play quicker and avoid the half-court grind that became pick-and-roll heavy.

“I think the biggest thing is playing with pace . . . as opposed to just getting bogged down and running plays,” Mitchell said. “Especially with the two-big lineup. The constant movement [helps]. We just got to get used to and acquainted to it. That’s something that you can see the steps in just the four days we’ve been here.”

Diversifying the offense, both individually and as a team, has been a goal of Atkinson’s since getting here. They don’t want to abandon what has made them successful. The idea is to build on what’s already here.

“There’s a lot of other things you can do in basketball,” Atkinson said. “There’s variety. It’s not ‘Oh, we’re not going to play pick-and-roll.’ No way. It’s just a piece of it.”

A team that games together stays together

Mitchell says that he and his teammates have been playing Xbox for about four hours a night. The current games of choice are College Football 25 and NBA 2K.

“Once I leave here I’ll probably be playing until the Mets play at 4 o’clock tomorrow,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell does believe that this is a way to bring teammates together and is an added benefit of going away for camp.

“That builds a trust, a camaraderie,” Mitchell said.

Dean Wade can be more than just a shooter

Wade’s defense is exceptional. The offense hasn’t been despite his good outside shot. Atkinson wants to make sure he’s utilized as more than just a shooter.

“I definitely want him to do more,” Atkinson said. “At 6’9” and a half, [I want him to cut]. At 6’9” and a half, go rebound. I just see more than that [in his game]. We’re not going to make that crazy shift right? We’ve still got to embrace his strength. But can we add a few more things to his game.”

Wade has been a more ready shooter in the brief glimpse of the scrimmage I got on Friday. We’ll see if he’s able to carry that aggression, and the other aspects Atkinson talked about, into a game.

Moving off-ball is an emphasis for Mitchell

Atkinson has been more analytics-focused from a team and individual perspective. That’s more than just playing faster and getting up a ton of threes. For Donovan Mitchell, one of the focuses is moving off-ball more.

“Moving off-the-ball, getting to the corners,” Mitchell said. “Sprinting my behind to the corners, creating space. The gravity that I have is creating that space.”

More space will help Evan Mobley if he’s aggressive

Mitchell was quick to point out how his off-ball movement would help out Evan Mobley.

“When you add in the aggression of Evan, he’s getting the ball and dominating the ball, now it’s like alright, I can get to the paint get in space, now you have to make a decision,” Mitchell explained. “Evan is so talented, but if you stop Ev, [he can move onto] the next read.”

This all relies on whether Mobley can take that assertiveness into games that count. Mitchell believes that he can because of what he’s seen the past month.

“There’s a level of aggression that you see with Ev and that’s what I like,” Mitchell said. “I don’t think that’s something we haven’t seen. We saw it in spurts, but now it’s a consistent thing since the day I saw him when we had a team camp in New York.”

Mobley’s growth will determine the Cavs’ ceiling. That progression will only happen if Mobley is assertive. Mitchell knows this and is making sure Mobley does too.

“I’ve talked to Ev multiple times,” Mitchell said. “I’ve challenged him on it. He feels that and understands that. I’m excited for him.”