NBA Realities

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reportedly wanted the organization to keep Jarrett Allen on the 2024-25 season roster. Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com stated on November 4th that Atkinson values Allen’s defensive mindset.

“The new coach was adamant about keeping big men Mobley and Allen on the roster in order to retain the defensive mindset,”

Kenny Atkinson’s offense

Unfortunately, Atkinson’s request to keep Jarrett Allen on the roster will prevent the Cavaliers from winning a championship this season. Kenny Atkinson is running a pick-and-roll offense during the early stages of the 2024-25 season. Cleveland ranks third in this play type, averaging 24.4 possessions per game through 10 outings. 

When Cleveland runs the play type, they like to have the paint as open as possible. For example, Donovan Mitchell dribbled the ball up to the top of the key during the first quarter of a home game vs the Warriors on November 8th. Once Donovan reached the top of the key, Jarrett Allen came over to set up a screen.

As Allen set the screen for Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro stood behind the arc as floor spacers. Mitchell would go over the screen and immediately shoot a three-pointer as the Warriors gave him space on the other side of the screen.

How Atkinson is using Evan Mobley

Jarrett Allen has gotten most of the team’s roll-man opportunities in the pick-and-roll. He leads the team in this play type, averaging 4.1 possessions per game. Allen and Mobley have shared the court for 14.3 minutes per game this season.

During these minutes, Allen forces Mobley to be a floor spacer in many pick-and-roll possessions. Mobley is shooting a career-high 14.2% of his shots from behind the arc, averaging 1.9 per game through 10 outings. Unfortunately, Mobley has been a below-average three-point shooter since college. He shot 30% on 1.2 attempts per game in 33 games at USC.

Mobley has gotten worse in the NBA, shooting 26.5% on 1.3 attempts per game prior to this season. However, Mobley’s subpar shooting hasn’t affected Cleveland during the regular season, as they are second in pick-and-roll production through 10 games. 

Kenny Atkinson’s team averages 23.7 points per game, shooting 48.2% on 19.3 attempts. Cleveland’s production likely has been affected because coaches rarely have time during the regular season to prepare game plans for opponents.

Game plans in the NBA

For example, Clippers head coach Ty Lue told the LA Times that he takes three days to create a full game plan for another team.    

Lue asks the assistant in charge of scouting the opponent all season to first make a full presentation to him. He decides the Clippers’ counter strategies, while also wanting to lock in on player tendencies. Centers and forwards are givenvideos showing tendencies of the other team’s “bigs.” Guards watch the opposing guards. Then they switch.

The next day, if time allows, Clippers coaches brief players on the opponent’s top 10-12 plays. The third day focuses on what opponents want from after-timeout plays, and then how the Clippers want to attack the opponent on both ends.

Consequently, opponents will sag off or leave Mobley open to accomplish two goals, double-team the pick-and-roll,  and encourage him to shoot more threes. Therefore, the domino effect of Kenny Atkinson’s request will prevent the Cavaliers from a Championship this season.