DETROIT — He sounded hoarse, but not from the frantic screaming associated with being the head coach in a pivotal overtime playoff game. No, Kenny Atkinson insisted a bug was taking his voice, not the Detroit Pistons and this maniacal Game 5 victory.
“I wasn’t even yelling,” he said.
It was bad until it wasn’t. It was over until it wasn’t. The Cavs were the same old Cavs until they weren’t.
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If there is one drastic change from last year to this year, perhaps this is it: A calm demeanor from the coach and players, even when the outlook is bleak. Down nine on the road with three minutes to go, the arena roaring and the Cleveland Cavaliers 180 seconds from staring at yet another second-round elimination game on Friday.
This was impactful. Walking out of this arena, winning this game 117-113 in overtime in the manner in which they did, this was one of those “toughness” victories this team has spent years searching to find.
It’s no secret the Cavs have tried year after year to prove to the rest of the league they can be both mentally and physically tough. Atkinson called out their lack of mental toughness following the loss to the Indiana Pacers in the second round last year.
I scoffed a bit when he tried to credit his team for showing mental toughness this year by rallying to beat Toronto at home in Game 5 during the first round — when the Cavs entered as nearly double-digit favorites and enjoyed a heavy talent edge over the Raptors.
But this? This is different.
This was the Cavaliers digging in defensively to deny the Pistons on their last six shots, when even one of them falling likely would’ve secured a Detroit victory. This was Evan Mobley rising up with a huge dunk, 3-pointer and two free throws on consecutive possessions to tie the score at the end of regulation.
Nobody on this team is more maddening to watch at times than Mobley, whose floor and ceiling have been farther apart than the court and the roof at Little Caesars Arena. When Mobley is good, he can be the best player at both ends of the floor. When he’s bad, he’s invisible.
So yes, the Cavaliers are inching closer to shedding those mentally and physically soft labels. Mobley departed with deep, visible scratches down the left side of his face, souvenirs from another street fight.
He and the Cavs beat the No. 1 seed on Wednesday night by rallying late, on the road, when their best player was struggling through a miserable shooting night.
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Mobley’s growth and James Harden’s arrival have mitigated the heavy reliance on Donovan Mitchell for every crucial possession of every postseason series. That’s a good thing because Mitchell was lousy offensively for most of the night, and the Cavs won anyway. They never panicked. They never got down at the end when the game appeared close to over. They just kept fighting.
“Mental fortitude,” Mitchell said. “Being able to understand, like I always talk about, you have something to pull from. You have the situation in Games 1 and 2 where you (lose). OK, cool. We’ve been here before.”
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Wednesday’s win was significant because it came on the anniversary of last year’s stunning collapse against the Pacers. It was a year ago that Mitchell and Atkinson were trying to explain how a 64-win, No. 1 seed could crumble in the second round. It was during that series that I received a call from an NBA executive who was shocked by the Cavs’ poor body language after they fell behind 0-2 at home.
“Do they know they’re the better team?” he asked. “They’re not acting like it.”
All of that is gone now. Harden’s arrival and veteran demeanor have helped shape a new maturity. Atkinson has said multiple times that Harden is the same whether he plays great or plays poorly. We have plenty of examples of both just in this series. Harden was awful in the first two games. One of the Cavs’ adjustments was taking the ball out of his hands more frequently, not asking him to initiate every time down the floor. They haven’t lost since, and Harden was terrific in Game 5.
The Pistons are a flawed No. 1 seed, but this is a league of flawed teams outside of perhaps the Oklahoma City Thunder. The new version of the NBA demands parity, and Detroit, despite the best record in the East, is certainly part of it.
When the Cavs don’t turn the ball over, the Pistons struggle to score in the halfcourt. Detroit scored 20 points in the first half off turnovers Wednesday because it was able to get out and run off the Cavs’ mistakes. When the turnovers went away (mostly) in the second half, so did a lot of Detroit’s easy points.
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This series isn’t over yet. Atkinson was an assistant on the Golden State Warriors team that fell behind 0-2 to the Sacramento Kings in 2023, then won three in a row with a chance to close out the Kings at home in Game 6. The Warriors lost by 19 before winning Game 7 on the road.
The Cavs are hopeful they won’t need a Game 7. Atkinson said before the game that he felt his team had taken the momentum of this series. It was a bold declaration coming from a team that hadn’t won a road game in these playoffs.
As it turns out, he was right. The Cavs are in complete control. They’re undefeated at home in this postseason, and now have the quiet confidence of knowing they can win on the road.
The labels and stains from the past are being washed away as the scratches and gashes of toughness emerge. The lights are no longer too bright. The Cavaliers are proving they’re built for this.