{"id":161173,"date":"2025-09-30T23:33:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T03:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=161173"},"modified":"2025-09-30T23:33:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T03:33:17","slug":"three-storylines-to-watch-in-cavaliers-training-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/09\/30\/three-storylines-to-watch-in-cavaliers-training-camp\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Storylines To Watch In Cavaliers Training Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND \u2014 Cavaliers<\/a> enter camp still haunted by another playoff collapse. Consecutive second-round exits exposed familiar flaws, leaving questions about their ability to advance. June will ultimately measure progress, but the foundations are set now. Training camp is where habits take shape, and the storylines already center on pace, roles, and new arrivals to the Cavaliers.<\/p>\n

Three Storylines To Watch In Cavaliers Training Camp<\/h2>\n

Pushing the Pace<\/h3>\n
\"Three
Sep 29, 2025; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) and guard Darius Garland (10) and guard Donovan Mitchell (45) and forward Evan Mobley (4) poses for a photo during media day at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cleveland wants to play faster. This is not the usual preseason clich\u00e9. Coach Kenny Atkinson stresses urgency. \u201cWe can be better,\u201d Atkinson admitted<\/a>. \u201cI mean, efficiency wise we were elite no doubt. But can we get to that scoring zone quicker? There\u2019s obviously a conditioning element to it, but there\u2019s a strategic element. Definitely a point of emphasis in this camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last season, Cleveland finished tenth in pace during the regular season and sixth in the playoffs. That was still slower than Oklahoma City and Indiana, the eventual finalists. The Cavs now want more kick-aheads and earlier actions. Sam Merrill<\/a> explained the approach. \u201cWe\u2019re just working on quick outlets. Whoever\u2019s there, take the ball out, get it and go. I think for us it\u2019s certain areas we can be faster and quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com<\/em> detailed<\/a> the drills. \u201cAs part of Tuesday\u2019s session, Cleveland ran multiple drills where split-up teams received points for getting the ball across half court in a certain amount of time. The faster, the better. Along with that, coaches are urging these guys to pick up full court as well, hoping to force opponents out of their usual offensive flow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunter\u2019s Big Chance<\/h3>\n

With Max Strus<\/a> sidelined by a foot injury<\/a> until at least December, the small forward spot is wide open. De\u2019Andre Hunter<\/a> appears ready. Terry Pluto reported Hunter has \u201clooked great\u201d in workouts, adding<\/a> the team was \u201clooking at Hunter as a starter before the injury to Strus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atkinson offered striking praise. \u201cDe\u2019Andre Hunter, you could argue, has been our best player in the offseason.\u201d The Cavs admitted<\/a> last year they \u201cdidn\u2019t realize how multifaceted Hunter was offensively.\u201d His catch-and-shoot ability, 43.1 percent last season, fits alongside the core four. If Hunter seizes this chance, Strus may return as a shooting guard instead.<\/p>\n

The New Additions<\/h3>\n

Lonzo Ball<\/a> and Larry Nance Jr.<\/a> headline the summer arrivals. Ball brings steadiness while Darius Garland<\/a> heals. His vision and control will anchor the bench. With Ty Jerome<\/a> departing in free agency, Ball can replace his shooting. He shot the three-ball at an efficient 42.3% on 7.4 attempts per game.<\/p>\n

Nance adds versatility in the frontcourt, complementing Evan Mobley<\/a> and Jarrett Allen<\/a>. His improved shooting, 44.7% on 3.3 threes per game gives Cleveland a new pick-and-pop wrinkle.<\/p>\n

Both fit into the broader storylines defining the Cavaliers training camp: adaptation. The Cavs must evolve to break through in the postseason. These changes begin in camp, where every drill and lineup choice signals intent.<\/p>\n

Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n

Training camp cannot solve everything, but it sets the tone. The storylines\u2014pace, Hunter\u2019s emergence, and the newcomers\u2014will define whether Cleveland finally pushes past old limits.<\/p>\n

CLEVELAND \u2014 Cavaliers enter camp still haunted by another playoff collapse. Consecutive second-round exits exposed familiar flaws, leaving questions about their ability to advance. June will ultimately measure progress, but the foundations are set now. Training camp is where habits take shape, and the storylines already center on pace, roles, and new arrivals to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":161179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,9,3],"tags":[50244,1875,667,1478,49503],"class_list":["post-161173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-cavaliers","category-news","tag-2025-26-nba-season","tag-deandre-hunter","tag-lonzo-ball","tag-max-strus","tag-nba-training-camp"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161173"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161180,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161173\/revisions\/161180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}