BRADENTON, Fla. — Picture something.
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry initiates offense above the 3-point line by tossing the ball to Draymond Green in the low post, allowing the supersized playmaker to act as an offensive fulcrum. After that initial dump-in pass, Curry screens for former splash brother Klay Thompson. Curry and Thompson then split apart from each other, causing confusion on the perimeter for the opposing defense.
Will Thompson use the screen or reject it and back cut? Will Curry slyly slip to the rim? Will Green attack one-on-one in the post, looking to score inside himself?
The action itself is simple. It’s interchangeable between positions and players. But for more than a decade, Golden State’s personnel has made it a devastating set, synonymous with an NBA dynasty and a staple of the franchise’s playbook.
Now picture the Cavs doing it.
Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley in the Green role. Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell or Ty Jerome operating as the point guard. Mitchell, Max Strus, Caris LeVert or even Sam Merrill doing their best Thompson impersonation.
That’s new coach Kenny Atkinson’s plan — an attempt to bring the vast knowledge gained elsewhere to Cleveland.
In an effort to be less reliant on the pick and roll and create a more diverse attack with continuous movement, Golden State’s lethal split action is making its way into the Cavaliers’ playbook.
“We do [have the personnel],” Atkinson said when asked Friday if Cleveland can run that action properly. “But that’s also unique to the Warriors. We’ve definitely done some breakdowns on it. We have to see how that evolves. Have to see what sticks with this team.”
That’s one of Atkinson’s greatest challenges. He isn’t walking into a rebuild like he did with Brooklyn — his first head-coaching gig — in 2016. This is an established team, with championship aspirations, a clear identity and an offensive system that doesn’t require a complete makeover. The plan is to slowly implement modern concepts and principles — even if that means early-season growing pains.
But what does Atkinson add? What does he subtract? How much feedback should he take from players? Is it possible to borrow concepts from the Bickerstaff era and blend them? How does Atkinson pare down what he’s learned in more than two decades — alongside some of the world’s best coaches, both in the NBA and internationally — and make it work for this franchise, this collection of players?
“I can definitely cherry pick stuff,” Atkinson said with a bright smile. “In Golden State we played with two bigs a lot with Loon (Kevon Looney) and Draymond. Not saying that is J.A. and Evan, but there are definitely some things you can do. We talked about my experience in France and how we approach attacking a switch. It’s different from the NBA. I can take things from that experience too.”
In the early days of training camp at IMG Academy, the Cavs have spent plenty of time working through a variety of movement-based halfcourt sets — fist (an Atkinson staple), elbow, flex, flare and split, among others.
Mitchell can already envision the benefit of split — Cleveland’s newest addition, courtesy of Steve Kerr.
“It’s just a lot of indecision,” Mitchell said. “You’ve got Ev and even J.A. at the elbow. Both those guys at the elbow and if you want to overplay myself, Darius, Max, Caris, Dean (Wade), Sam, whoever, if you overplay that now it’s an elbow 1-on-1 matchup with those guys continuously being aggressive. That’s what I mean when I say Ev continuously being aggressive. Instead of looking to be passive, that’s another scoring threat, they need to react to that. If they double us on the handoff, Ev is in the pocket making plays or J.A. is in the pocket making plays. It’s early. We’re just introducing all this. But we have a group that is continuing to build and continuing to learn.”
While Atkinson wants Cleveland to remain a defense-first outfit, he understands this team’s ceiling is primarily tied to its offensive evolution — a stylistic weak point under Bickerstaff.
“I love the pick and roll. It’s a big part of the NBA, but I think there can be more of a balance,” Atkinson said. “Drive-and-kick game, spacing. Not always 10 seconds left and go into the pick and roll. Don’t think we’re not going to play pick and roll. No way. But it’s just a piece of it. There are other things we can do. Off-ball screening. You’re allowed to cut like in the old days. The game is evolving. Ball movement and player movement. It was pick and roll and space. But there are a lot of other things you can do in basketball. It’s really about variety.”
Atkinson saw that firsthand during his time elsewhere, including Golden State, where he was part of a team that mastered a specific effective offensive action and decimated opposing defenses with it en route to an NBA championship.
If you or a loved one has questions and needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-589-9966 or the National Council on Program Gambling Helpline (NCPG) at 1-800-522-4700 or visit 1800gambler.net for more information. 21+ and present in Ohio. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
