More than banking wins: How the Cavs are using the regular season ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Not all teams can just flip a switch when the playoffs come around. For the Cavs, it’s a slow burn, a months-long grind of preparation, trial and error.

Kenny Atkinson knew that the moment he accepted the Cavs’ head coaching job in June. His conversations with president of basketball operations Koby Altman revolved around one core question: How does this team go deeper in the playoffs?

Historic starts and regular-season accolades are nice. But they’re just fillers in the chase of a championship.

Everyone understands that the Cavs (43-10) will be judged on how they perform when the lights burn brightest.

February is typically when contenders separate from the pack. Cleveland, sitting atop the Eastern Conference with a 5.5-game cushion over Boston, has a rare luxury — a chance to refine, tinker, and experiment with playoff survival in mind.

Atkinson, a disciple of some of the NBA’s sharpest minds, is pushing his players into uncomfortable situations now, so they thrive when the stakes rise.

“It’s a little bit my DNA,” Atkinson said. “I like changing defenses. I like giving different looks. I think with this team, they were kind of a basic coverage team last year, and I just feel like you got to practice [making changes] in live play.

“I love the Ty Lue [line], he said, ‘You work on a playoff adjustment a day. You’re always working on something because you never know when you’re going to need it.’ But I really believe you gotta do it in live play, not just in practice.”

Cleveland’s offense has been among the league’s best all season, a high-octane machine that can overpower most teams on any given night. But they don’t want to rely on their scoring alone, just in case a shooting dip presents itself. The Cavs are learning to win differently — to dictate tempo, to frustrate opponents, to embrace defensive chaos.

Blitzing. Switching. Zone. Forcing guards to fight through mismatches. Stifling rhythm and keeping offenses off balance.

Above all else, they’re prioritizing defensive communication. Drilling the idea that being loud and decisive is just as crucial as being in the right spot.

For Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, Cleveland’s twin defensive pillars, that means stepping out of their natural dispositions. Off the court, they are soft-spoken. On it, they must be unequivocally stentorian.

“We kind of have this playoff focus where we need to get to the next level,” Atkinson said. “That was one of the bullet points on our PowerPoint to the guys — communication is a big one, and we’re just OK. Those guys gotta get better.

“Sometimes with those guys, they want to be perfect in the coverage. And our message to them: You guys are the quarterbacks. You’re not going to be perfect. Just be decisive. And sometimes that’s not their personality. So I think that’s the next step for them.”

The margin for error is razor-thin in the postseason. A half-second hesitation, a missed rotation, or an unspoken switch can be the difference between advancing and going home. Cleveland has had its hiccups, even in wins.

Take Monday’s 128-107 victory over the Timberwolves.

A miscommunication between Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland led to a wide-open layup. Craig Porter Jr. and Allen lost track of an assignment, resulting in an uncontested three.

Growing pains, but necessary ones.

“It’s because we’re doing so many different things,” Mitchell said. “I think the biggest thing to challenge now, and I challenged everybody just like, we have to communicate.

“This is what we’re using the regular season for. Obviously, we’re playing to win, but we’re playing to figure things out and grow. When you haven’t done something, we don’t practice as much, so we have to figure out ways to try it.”

Even with the occasional breakdown, Cleveland has flexed its defensive potential. Against Minnesota, it held the Timberwolves scoreless on their first 16 attempts.

And with the addition of De’Andre Hunter — an elite perimeter stopper with positional versatility — the Cavs are only scratching the surface.

“We’re eighth now,” Atkinson said of Cleveland’s defensive ranking. “I think the players talk about top five. I know that was their message. These guys want feedback. ‘Where are we? What’s our grade?’ And we’re eighth. We’re good, but we’re not great.

“De’Andre was part of that thought process. Can you help us? Can his size, physicality, positional size, switchability — all the little cliches that are true — can he help push us to the next level? [He was] ACC Defensive Player of the Year. I love the pedigree, I love his background, and we’re going to challenge him to help us in that area.”

Over the past three seasons, the Cavs have consistently ranked among the league’s elite defensively, slipping out of the top five just once with a seventh-place finish last year. While their high-octane offense and sharpshooting have made them notorious for building commanding leads this season, the team is shifting its focus back to its defensive foundation. By sharpening their roots, the Cavs aim to stay dynamic, fluid, and unpredictable, making them just as disruptive on defense as they are potent on offense.

Cleveland is playing to be playoff-proof. Every adjustment, every defensive wrinkle, every uncomfortable moment is a step toward a team that won’t flinch when adversity strikes or when Atkinson makes an impromptu change in the playoffs. He hopes and has already seen glimpses of players making adjustments before he’s had the chance.

The Cavs have built a roster that they believe is capable of winning it all. Now, it’s about ensuring that when the moment arrives — no matter the pressure — they can make adjustments on the fly without missing a beat.