Kenny Atkinson not thrilled about Cavs going winless in preseason

The preseason is just the preseason, but it seems like Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson would’ve liked the Cavs to have gotten in the win column instead of going 0-4 during their exhibition slate.

“The 0-4 is not great going into the regular season,” Atkinson said. “But we have a clean slate. Just have to clean some things up and be ready to go for game one.”

The Cavs wrapped up their preseason schedule with an overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday. Cleveland got some impressive performances from its starters in the game before letting some other players take the floor in the extra session, with the Cavs ultimately losing 139-137.

Each member of Cleveland’s “core four” put together a pretty solid performance in the preseason finale.

Donovan Mitchell had 22 points while Darius Garland had 23. Meanwhile, Jarrett Allen (25 points and 16 rebounds) and Evan Mobley (15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists) both had double-doubles, with Mobley nearly registering a triple-double.

Dean Wade, Cleveland’s other starter in the game, also put together a solid showing with 14 points.

The only other game for the Cavs that was particularly close this preseason came in their exhibition opener, which was also against the Bulls. Cleveland lost that game by four. In their other two preseason games, the Cavs lost by double figures.

There may be something to be said about learning how to win and how the preseason can play a role in that, but the Cavs have put together three straight winning seasons and know what it takes to be a winning team. They’ll now turn their focus to their season opener against the Toronto Raptors, which is set for Wednesday.

While Cleveland checked a nice box last season by winning a playoff series, injuries might have prevented the team from lasting longer. Having a healthier squad has been pegged as one reason for optimism going into the new season, but unfortunately, the Cavs will have to start their season without a key player in Max Strus, who will be sidelined for at least six weeks due to an ankle injury.

Cleveland will look to get by without Strus and still put together a solid start to the season, beginning in just a few days in Canada.