The Cavs are in the zone, thanks to an unexpected source

CLEVELAND, Ohio — When the Cavs walked into the locker room at halftime of their eventual 14th straight win against the Chicago Bulls on Friday, the mood was anything but celebratory. Despite scoring 49 points in the first quarter — their best period in regular-season franchise history — Cleveland was met with Kenny Atkinson slamming a flip-flop in frustration.

Even when leading by four points at the break, their new head coach’s actions served as a wake-up call that surrendering 73 points in a half was unacceptable.

Defense was supposed to be Cleveland’s identity. Atkinson made that clear heading into the season: the offense would evolve, but the backbone of the team would remain on the defensive end.

Although there weren’t any theatrics, the message was the same on Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets. The Cavs needed to clean up their defense or they’d lose the game and their unbeaten streak.

“I felt like tonight, I felt it like, ‘Is this the one? Is this gonna be the one that knocks us out?’ There’s an extra tension on the bench. It’s almost like playoff-like,” Atkinson said. “We don’t want to lose here in front of our fans. Don’t want to lose to Charlotte. I definitely felt that.”

Charlotte’s young, quick team was torching the Cavs’ man-to-man scheme with relentless drives and pinpoint kick-outs for open threes.

In the second half, in both contests, the solution came in the form of a zone defense that stifled the Bulls and Hornets, turning a shootout into another tally in Cleveland’s win column.

The Cavaliers used the zone for 85% of the fourth quarter, limiting the Hornets to just 15 points on 6-of-21 shooting, that helped Cleveland secure its 15th straight win. The game-changing adjustment, however, didn’t come from Atkinson — it came from an unexpected source.

A coach who has yet to log a single minute this season.

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Enter Max Strus, a fiery competitor relegated to the sidelines with an ankle injury that has kept him out during the Cavs’ 15-game winning streak and won’t return for at least another two weeks.

Strus was one of Cleveland’s most impactful players last year, finishing third in net rating on a team that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time without LeBron James since 1993. While his injury has kept him off the court, it hasn’t kept him out of the action. He’s made his presence felt in practice, dissecting schemes, and even stepping up in film sessions to point out adjustments. It was Strus who pitched the zone defense during a recent practice, and it was his blueprint that rescued Cleveland twice in one week.

“Coach Max Strus,” Darius Garland said with a grin after the Hornets game. “We’re still learning from him, even though he’s on the sideline, he’s still preaching about the zone.

“The two-three definitely slowed them down from all their driving opportunities and just getting us in rotation a lot. So, I’ll definitely put it on the zone for sure. Saving us.”

During practice, Strus took charge for a drill, directing rotations, and explaining how to neutralize driving lanes. The buy-in was immediate. Jarrett Allen, who anchors the zone in the paint, credited Strus’ insights for sparking their defensive resurgence.

“It’s an excellent scheme about how we guard the zone,” Allen said. “Shout out to Max. He kind of put the zone in. He was a coach for a day telling us where to be and how to guard certain things, and just our energy in the zone. We communicate well. We know when to box out. We know that if Evan goes, I have his back. It’s just a good tandem of movement that works well together.”

While Atkinson has historically used zone defenses — Brooklyn ranked second in zone usage under his leadership — he continues to find innovative ways to keep his team, even his sidelined forward, engaged and feeling valued.

Whether it’s been a friendly football game at IMG Academy during training camp, a humorous video to begin film, or allowing Strus to set up their zone, Atkinson has pressed all the right buttons for this team on and off the court.

“I’ve always believed in it,” Atkinson said of the zone defense. The NFL does it all the time, right? The quarterback, they’re going to see zone they’re going to see man. I just always believed that, especially when Charlotte was going like they were going. If we stayed in our same coverage, I don’t know if we win that game, quite honestly.

“We could not stop them in man-to-man. You’re just at the point like, we gotta do something different. We tried a couple of different man-to-man coverages, regular coverage and then we tried to switch everything. That didn’t work. So, the zone, we just threw that out there and we just stuck with it, and it changed the game.”

In a season defined by adaptability and trust, the Cavs are leaning on everyone — from their stars to the voices on the sidelines. Atkinson’s ability to tap into every player and coach is fueling a collective effort that’s powering their historic start.