The Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland got a huge makeover for the NBA Cup opener between the Cavaliers and Bulls, yet Cleveland’s dominance was the real highlight.
Impressive Start to the Season:
The Cavaliers crushed the Bulls 144-126, making their record an impressive 14-0. This ties them with some legendary teams like the 2002-03 Mavericks and the 1957-58 Celtics for one of the best starts in NBA history. If they beat the Hornets next, they’ll join another elite group with a 15-0 start, only behind the 2015-16 Warriors who began their season at an unbelievable 24-0.
Cleveland’s current streak is now their longest ever, beating out three previous runs of 13 straight wins during different times when LeBron James played for them.
BREAKING RECORDS ON RECORDS. #LetEmKnow
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs)
Kenny Atkinson’s Historic Achievement:
Kenny Atkinson has made history as well by being the first NBA coach to win his first 14 games with a new team. His offensive strategies have clearly paid off.
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson is the ONLY coach in NBA history to win the first 14 games to start a tenure with a franchise ๐ฅ
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA)
Under Atkinsonโs guidance, Cleveland has scored over 130 points six times this season already. Last year, they managed that feat just four times across all games. The Cavs are now leading in scoring with an average of 123.4 points per game compared to last year’s average of just over 112 points. While theyโve become more attack-focused under Atkinson, they’ve still kept strong defensive tactics from before and rank seventh in defensive efficiency.
Fans love seeing this kind of transformation!
Team Dynamics and Leadership:
What makes this turnaround even more amazing is that most players from last year are still on board; only Luke Travers and JT Thor have joined on two-way contracts. This shows how much credit Atkinson deserves for changing things up so effectively.
Donovan Mitchell praised his coach after their recent victory, saying that even though they havenโt lost yet, Atkinson keeps pushing them hard to avoid mistakes and stay sharp.
Mitchell also helped keep things steady by re-signing with Cleveland during offseason talks about him possibly leaving next year. By staying committed, he avoided any potential distractions for his teammates.
Next up for these undefeated Cavs are games against the Hornets on Sunday and then against reigning champs Celtics on Tuesday. If they manage to win both matches, they’ll be inching closer to matching those incredible Warriors’ records!
