Training Camp Open Thread (or, LFG!!!)

Good evening CtB!

We’ve finally made it, NBA Media Day and the opening of Cavs training camp at the IMG Academy have taken place. Some random thoughts as we’ve finally heard the first words from the Cavs org for the 2024-25 season…

1. The Vibes are Back

After watching the state sanctioned video (AKA the Cavs Youtube channel) of all of Coach Kenny Atkinson’s press conferences, as well as the press conferences of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, the good vibes are back. The tone was really set by Coach Atkinson, who’s passion, energy, and focus for basketball is apparent in every media interaction. He knows the game, he’s humble, and he’s extremely polished and professional.

One of the major overarching themes he harped upon was the fact that he came into a Cavs org that doesn’t need an organizational “overhaul.” To paraphrase him, he’s trying to “get 5% better, just tweaking and working on the margins, not trying to re-invent the wheel.” To this end, he claimed that 75% of the time spent in training camp was on defense. He said that the Cavs “can’t lose” their identity as a defense-first team. He also said there’s zero change regarding the overall defensive scheme, only tweaks on particular situations.

As for the offense, he’s steadily claimed that there’s no overhaul of the offense either, and he’s only interested in incremental improvements this early in the season. But some of the comments by DG and Evan Mobley belie Coach’s claims… there’s rumors of a lot more transition 3s, high post Mobley, and more off-ball DG. But the clear focus for Coach Atkinson appears to be offensive rebounding, and rebounding in general. He said that offensive rebounding is a key differentiator in playoff basketball, which is hard to disagree. We’ll see if he can get this group of some of the worst rebounders (looking at you Isaac Okoro, Darius Garland, Georges Niang, and Caris LeVert) in the NBA to find their inner Dennis Rodman.

Lastly, an interesting comment from Coach Atkinson was his claim that they started individual skill work portion of camp far earlier than he intended, because Donovan Mitchell brought the guys in early to Cleveland for voluntary workouts and the “road trip” setting of training camp at IMG Academy facilities in Bradenton, Florida lends itself for more time together as a team. The IMG training camp idea sprang from the Cavs France road trip last season, which is also according to Mitchell, the time he decided he was re-signing with Cleveland.

What was apparent from Mitchell’s presser was his sense of calm. He was as relaxed and focused as I’ve ever seen him. He said having the contract extension meant this was the first offseason in three years he hasn’t faced questions about his future. He also talked about tweaking his offseason regiment, to include more rest and recovery to be able to play longer into the playoffs. Probably the best part of Mitchell’s press conference was his public confidence in teammate Darius Garland, predicting a bounce back year for the doubted point guard:

Donovan Mitchell speaks about Darius Garland’s injury and the year he’ll have on the upcoming season.

“My biggest thing is ‘How do you respond.’ He’s been Mr. Cleveland, he’s been Mr. Cavalier since he’s been here.” pic.twitter.com/GAGm14Ijz4

— ¹⁰ (@HoodiGarland) September 30, 2024

This was the perfect response from Spida, and it just goes to show how locked in he is for the season.

As for DG, the fun and light-heartedness in his personality is shining through right now, with the same kind of calm and determination that Spida has. He said that because of his injuries last year, he was able to start his offseason program right after the season ended. He speaks about an understanding that he’s got to trust his shot and shoot more threes, and play more off ball in order to score more. As a lifelong Darius Garland fan, this is music to your truly’s ears. For as good a shooter he is, he’s never taken more than seven threes a game, and his highest season average of 3pt attempts per game resulted in his only All-Star game appearance. Coach Atkinson reportedly has told him the minimum number is “eight to nine” attempts per game, we shall see…

2. Jaylon Tyson Agenda >>>>>>>

There were scolds out here telling me that Tyson wasn’t a lock for the playoff rotation, but given how much universal hype surrounds this kid the scolds will all be in shambles come next spring as the Jaylon Tyson Agenda continues unimpeded and gaining in momentum. Why is yours truly so confident? Just watch the tape and listen to his peers and superiors talk about him. With Coach Atkinson, he raved about his maturity and unselfishness saying that he plays like a 24-25 year old veteran instead of 21 year old rookie. Atkinson also pointed out his offensive rebounding, something that Atkinson correlates with postseason success. Tyson’s teammates all echo the same sentiment about his professionalism and unselfishness. The Cavs gave nearly 500 playoff minutes this past spring to Dean Wade, Isaac Okoro, and Georges Niang, all of whom were completely unplayable on offense. The threshold is low and the opportunity is there for someone to step up… #staytuned

A statistical data point in Tyson’s favor is current talk of the Twin Cities Donte DiVincenzo. Tyson’s college production compares favorably to the former Villanova Wildcat. And while he wasn’t a rookie, a 23 year old NBA sophomore DiVincenzo was an excellent playoff rotation player for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019-2020 and won a ring the next season with an even bigger playoff role. The tape clearly shows Tyson has even more playoff equity as a guy who can create off the dribble, we’ll see if he can capitalize on the opportunity over the course of the season.

"He's been phenomenal. I didn't know much about his game beforehand. But, I'm in a group chat and my friend told me, 'Yo. This is a guy you have to watch.'"#Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell on rookie Jaylon Tyson.

— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) October 4, 2024

#Cavs sharpshooter Max Strus says that he's been very impressed by Jaylon Tyson early into camp, especially with Tyson playing without the ball in his hands.

"Guys coming out of college don't usually do that. … It's refreshing."

— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) October 2, 2024

Kenny Atkinson on rookie Jaylon Tyson: “He’s been great in open gym. He’s one of those players who does everything well. He’s been really intriguing and played well on the first day of camp.” #Cavs

— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) October 1, 2024

3. Cavs action in 72 hours…

The Cavs will play their first preseason game on October 8th on the shores of Lake Erie against the Chicago Bulls, at long last basketball is back, GO CAVS!