After starting the season with a 15-game winning streak, the Cavaliers have remained hot. They currently have the NBA's best record at 23-4. Ideastream Public Media's sports commentator Terry Pluto gives credit to new head coach Kenny Atkinson.
Pluto said the Cavs made a big statement this week; Beating Atkinson's former team, the Brooklyn Nets, by nearly 30 points.
Atkinson, a New York area native, was head coach of the Nets for four seasons, from 2016-2020.
鈥�(Atkinson) was making very good progress, taking over a bad team," Pluto said. "He won 20 games his first year, 28 his second year (and) his third year, he was 42-40 and they made the playoffs."
The team took a different direction in Atkinson鈥檚 fourth season, bringing in stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
鈥淜evin Durant didn鈥檛 play; he was hurt and Irving was mad and (Atkinson) ended up being fired with a 28 and 34 record,鈥� Pluto said.
In Atkinsons first visit to Brooklyn with his new team, Pluto said he was taken aback by how the Cavs rallied around him.
鈥淲hen a coach gets fired, the players, they don't seem to really care whether the coach is going back to the team that fired him," Pluto said. "But these guys, they really wanted to make a statement that, Brooklyn, you fired the wrong guy here.
鈥淥n top of that, what I thought was just very interesting was how the different players talked about that after the game, that they knew the