When you look at the modern NBA landscape, everybody’s chasing a “look.” Some teams want to run you off the floor; others want to space you out until you’re dizzy. But when I sat down with Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson, we weren’t just talking about X’s and O’s—we were talking about a literal “2K Dream.”
You know the vibe. In the video game, you stack your lineup with 6’9” wings who can handle, guards with wingspans like pterodactyls, and bigs who move like deer. It’s that perfect balance of height and versatility that makes an opponent just put the controller down.
For Atkinson, that dream isn’t just digital. It’s the daily reality of his roster construction.
The Dean Wade Utility Belt
In our conversation, I had to ask the million-dollar question: Do you ever just salivate at what this team looks like when they’re fully healthy and “going big” into the postseason?
Atkinson didn’t skip a beat. For him, the skeleton key to the whole operation is Dean Wade.
“Yeah, I mean, you know, we will start Dean at the three, you know, that’s a good lineup for us,” Atkinson told me.
“But you could also go to Jaylon at the two. We’re a big team, we have good size, and Dean’s a big part of that. You have a 6’9″ three, who can play the four and the five. But yeah, that’s in our repertoire.”
Think about that for a second. In an era where teams are playing 6’5” guys at the power forward spot, Atkinson is trotting out a 6′ 9” sniper at the small forward. It changes the geometry of the court. It creates a rebounding vacuum. But most importantly, it gives the Cavs a “repertoire” that most coaches would trade their whistle for.
Size Where It Matters: The Backcourt
It’s easy to look at the frontcourt and see the towers, but the real “Scoop” is how that size trickles down to the guards. Atkinson pointed specifically to the physical profile of James—a guy who breaks the traditional mold of a backcourt player.
“James is huge, right? 6’5″, with a super long wingspan,” Atkinson noted.
“So we have a lot of ways we can go.”
When your guards have the length of forwards, passing lanes disappear. Entry passes become turnovers. This is where the “2K” element really kicks in. You’re not just big; you’re long. That length allows Atkinson to experiment with “Big Small-Ball”—a look where Wade slides to the five, but the guys surrounding him aren’t exactly “small.”
“I do like when Dean is at the five that we have bigger guys out there around him, rather than going with our smaller guys,” Atkinson explained.
“It kind of makes sense. We got a versatile lineup, versatile roster.”
The Playoff Vision
As we head toward the business end of the season, the focus is squarely on the “health” factor. We’ve seen flashes of what this Cleveland squad can do, but a fully healthy roster allows Atkinson to play chess while others are playing checkers.
The ability to slide Jaylon Tyson to the shooting guard spot or keep Wade as a roaming playmaker at the three means the Cavs can match up with anyone. If you want to play bully ball, they have the height. If you want to play fast, they have the “versatility” to keep up.
Atkinson knows he’s sitting on something special. It’s a roster that feels like it was built in a lab for the modern postseason—where every switch matters and every rebound is a war.
For the Cavs, size isn’t just a physical attribute; it’s an identity. And as Atkinson told me with a grin, having those big bodies out there, especially when Wade is anchoring things at the five?
“It’s just a part of it, Scoop.”
