Kenny Atkinson is only in his second year as the Cavaliers' head coach, and the team has been very successful in the regular season with him in charge, but if Cleveland has another early exit in this year's playoffs, Atkinson could be looking for a new job next year.

High Pressure Playoff Run

The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t made it to the Eastern Conference Finals without LeBron James since 1992, and they’ve only done it two times ever. The James Harden trade at the deadline turned this year into one with an incredible amount of pressure. If this team is still unable to get out of the second round, then there will be big changes made in the offseason. Cleveland has not been hesitant to move on from coaches in the past. J.B. Bickerstaff was in the same position as Atkinson a few years ago, and those playoff failures led to his firing. I’m pretty confident that another early exit would give Kenny Atkinson the same fate.

Would Firing Him be Smart?

Atkinson has had some questionable decisions with his rotations this year. He has constantly played lineups with four guards on the floor, and those lineups have been brutal defensively. This is most likely just a product of having so many quality guards on the roster and not many good wings, but it is a real problem that the team has had. The good has certainly outweighed the bad with Kenny Atkinson in his tenure so far. I’m not saying that firing Kenny would be a terrible idea for the team, but I believe that roster changes would be much more beneficial in the offseason.

You can only blame so many coaches for the team falling short so many times before you start looking at the roster. I think it would be very clear that the core four has to be broken up this offseason with another playoff disappointment. Mitchell and Harden would most likely be safe, but either Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley would likely be on the trade block to shake up the team’s core. Again, I would certainly understand the Cavaliers making another coaching change in the offseason, but it could not be the only move they make if they want to see some serious changes.

Playoffs Starting Soon

There’s just four games left in the regular season for the Cavaliers, so we will finally be able to stop speculating about this team’s playoff potential and actually see what they can do. All of this is just thinking ahead to a scenario in which things go wrong, but Cleveland is more than capable of avoiding all of this drama in the playoffs.

As of right now it’s looking like they’ll be matched up with the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, which is a complicated matchup for this team because of Atlanta’s size and athleticism across the board. If that’s who they draw in round one, then it will be a fascinating opportunity for this team to show that they are different than the past few years, and for all of these players and coaches to prove they can succeed in the playoffs.