Success or failure? Can Atkinson liberate Mobry?

Evan Mobley, the first round of the 2021 Tanhua Show has come to the fourth season of his NBA career, and it is time to improve his offensive ability to another level.

Looking back at the Cavaliers' seemingly successful and failed season, they selected the new head coach this season and hired former Warriors assistant Atkinson. This experienced tactical master, from the Warriors to another equally high-pressure environment, has obviously greater responsibility for his role this time.

From the perspective of the Cavaliers, hiring Atkinson is a reasonable enough choice; before this season, he had established a good relationship with Allen, Leville and others in the team; secondly, he focused on the offensive rhythm space system, which happened to be the content that the Cavaliers need most at the moment.

Since choosing Mobley, the Cavaliers seem to have been expecting him to grow into a versatile offensive frontcourt player. If Atkinson can activate Mobley's offensive potential, this is the biggest achievement of Atkinson's coaching tenure.

Looking back at the past, Atkinson has transformed big players like Horford and Daluo into space insiders in the past. He helped Horford move the shot range from mid-range to develop his 3-pointer when he worked as an assistant coach with the Hawks. In the 2014-15 season, Horford averaged less than once three-point shots per game, but in the next season, he averaged more than three-point shots per game.

As for Daluo's transformation, it is even more obvious. The Nets appointed Atkinson as the head coach in 2016, and before that, Daluo had never made more than 14 three-pointers in any season. After Atkinson came to the Nets, Daluo made 387 three-point shots in the 2016-17 season.

Now that Atkinson has come to the Cavaliers, the same strategy should be applied to Mobri. Although the 23-year-old young forward was already more willing to try the outside line than Horford and Dalow, the Cavaliers still need to pay attention to his outside potential.

Referring to past seasons, the Cavaliers have basically revolved around a single big man. As long as there is a shooter next to the center, their style of play will work. If the Cavaliers want to continue to use the double tower lineup, Mobley will inevitably need to strengthen the shooting value and increase the average three-point goal per game to 4-5. Judging from this range of changes alone, it is not enough for Mobley to make fine adjustments, he needs to completely change his playing style.

Atkinson has shown that he has the ability to help big players who are not good at shooting to transform, allowing them to effectively open up offensive space by shooting from a long distance. And if he wants to continue to raise the Cavaliers' cap, he must prioritize Mobri's transformation opportunities.

Borrowing what Atkinson said at the team coach inaugural press conference:

"Mobley is a very versatile player. I think we can give him more opportunities to hold the ball in a tactical way, such as letting him hold the ball in a convertible fast break, perform pick-and-roll or handle the ball in a 5-out offense. We can design some innovative strategies. I think it can improve Mobley's overall usage rate, and we need to find out his best position in the team."

Although Atkinson did not say that Mobley wanted more outside shots, this is still an important plan for him. Maurray is the choice for pick-and-roll as the ball holder, holding the ball to the frontcourt to launch an offense, etc., which are all options for the Cavaliers to open up space, but if he lacks the ability on the outside, it is naturally difficult to force the defender to pay attention to him from the outside.

No surprise, space is a crucial advantage in the NBA today. If space can be opened on the offensive end, Mitchell and Garland will be more likely to get breakthrough and scoring opportunities. The opponent must also follow certain players on the defensive end to prevent the opponent from concentrating on the penalty area.

If Mobley can improve his outside shooting and organizational skills, so that he can attract more defenders' attention on the perimeter, it will create more space for the team and make the offensive lineup more smooth and stable.

With the outstanding regular season record this season, the Cavaliers' playoff performance has been slightly sluggish. But this does not mean Atkinson's failure in coaching, and the final success or failure is likely to depend on whether he can fully activate Mobley's potential.

Looking back at the coaching process of former Cavaliers head coach Bickstaff, he had plans to significantly change the team's offense, and once made the team's offense seem to have a little change, but these changes were not finally achieved.

For Atkinson, if he can realize Mobley's offensive potential, it will not only be a major achievement in Atkinson's coaching career, but also make the Cavaliers' overall performance to a higher level.