MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It was around 10:30 a.m. earlier this week when Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson strolled down music row in nearby Nashville and heard country music blaring from one of the many honky-tonks on Broadway, the heart of city’s vibrant music scene.
He paused — and took it all in.
“I’m not an expert on country music. But I just stopped for like 10 minutes and listened to them play — outside the bar,” Atkinson said. “I didn’t go inside. Already a fair amount of people in there at 10:30 and I said to myself, ‘This place is different.’”
The NBA season is an 82-game grind. Back-to-backs. Three games in four nights. Five in seven. Late-night flights. Early-morning wake-up calls.
It can become routine. Monotonous even.
Friday night in Memphis — [a franchise-record 16th straight win](https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2025/03/cavs-rewrite-history-books-with-133-124-win-over-memphis-grizzlies.html) — was the fourth road game already this month. There are six more coming. It was also the ninth matchup against a postseason opponent in the last three-plus weeks. The kind of hellish stretch that can be both mentally and physically exhausting.
“I do feel it a little bit with our guys. A little bit of monotony is setting in,” Atkinson said.
Months ago, before this unrelenting championship quest started, Atkinson had a conversation with president of basketball operations Koby Altman about how to best keep players fresh and engaged. What could the Cavs do differently — apart from the typical team-building activities?
It started in training camp with about a week in the Sarasota sun — a September get-together that featured beach parties, biodegradable golf balls being launched into a marina and some football games, using the IMG Academy basketball court as a makeshift gridiron.
It has carried over into the regular season.
Late Tuesday night, hours after clinching the Central Division title for an eighth time in team history, the Cavs’ team plane touched down in Nashville for a rare in-season respite filled with country music, pigskin and, of course, some business.
“Fun and work. Probably in that order,” Atkinson said with a smile. “Just change it up a little bit. Get out of the grind. It was perfect timing for the trip. Guys had a good time.”
“A little refreshment,” Evan Mobley said when asked about the Nashville trip. “Revitalize the mind. Some good weather. Some team bonding. Just being there and have an opportunity to do something like that in a season like this, is great.”
“Just good to spend time together,” Sam Merrill added. “Sometimes it’s nice to be at home. Sometimes it’s nice to get away. Two days off between games right now feels like a week. One full day in Nashville and you are able to refresh.”
All-Star point guard Darius Garland was the host. He goes back to Nashville every offseason. He has a house there. His family does as well. On Wednesday afternoon, the team went to the Vanderbilt-Texas SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament game. They spent the second day on Vandy’s campus, with a pre-practice football game between players and coaches quickly becoming the highlight of the trip.
“Unfortunately, the coaches lost,” Atkinson said. “But it was great seeing who could play football and who can’t. There were some guys, I won’t mention any names, but they had no clue.”
Max Strus, Ty Jerome, Javonte Green, Merrill and Garland were singled out as the gridiron stars. Garland’s streaking, full-sprint, over-the-shoulder touchdown grab from Strus on a flea flicker caused roars that echoed throughout Vanderbilt’s FirstBank Stadium.
“Darius Garland can probably play in the NFL,” Atkinson boasted. “Max is incredible. Then Sam Merrill with the field goals. You don’t know these guys have these talents. We have a bunch of multi-sport guys, which I love. Whatever they do, whatever they pick up, it’s like, man, ‘You’re good at that too?’”
Jerome bragged about throwing multiple TD passes.
“I’m like Tom Brady but a little more mobile,” said Jerome, before getting into a friendly back and forth with Green about his football skills, trying to determine the best NFL QB comparison. The two eventually settled on Drew Brees or Tony Romo.
“I will take Tony Romo,” Jerome said.
Merrill, meanwhile, was a multi-sport prep star at Bountiful High School in Utah. He played wide receiver and safety. He also punted from time to time. But kicking wasn’t part of that impressive resume. So, where did he learn how to make a field goal — or two, like he did Thursday afternoon?
“I’m an athlete,” Merrill told cleveland.com. “We all did PATs and a decent amount of guys made PATs. I made a 35-yarder, then missed a 35-yarder, made a 40-yarder and then went back to 45. I missed that just right. If I had more time, I would’ve been able to make it, but we had to actually play basketball.”
Craig Porter Jr., another player with a high school football background, told cleveland.com that his PAT attempt was so bad that he nearly broke a window.
Guess he will just have to stick with hoops. After all, that’s what the Cavs do best. Better than any other NBA team this season, improving their record to 56-10 with Friday’s triumph that wasn’t nearly as competitive as the final score made it look.
Cleveland is now just 11 wins away from setting the single-season franchise record. It has a real shot at joining the exclusive 70-win club.
These Cavs — joyous, connected, confident and resilient — may go down as one of the best regular season teams. In NBA history. Ever.
“You kind of know when something special is going on and we’ve got something special,” Atkinson said.
The Cavs didn’t have MVP candidate Donovan Mitchell. He wasn’t on the trip, staying back in Cleveland for treatment, rest and recovery on his achy groin that has sidelined him for two consecutive games. He is considered day-to-day. Garland had his eighth sub-45-percent shooting night since the All-Star break, going 7 of 17 from the field and 3 of 11 from 3-point range. Memphis point guard Ja Morant erupted for a game-high 44 points on a hyper efficient 17 of 22 shooting.
On the road. In a raucous building. Against a Western Conference contender. And yet the Cavs led nearly the entire game.
They trailed for just 49 seconds. By one total point. Seven players scored in double figures. Cleveland shot 50% from the field, made 19 3s and dished out 32 assists on 44 makes. Thanks to a mixture of timely tactics — 2-3 zone, 3-2 zone, box and 1, man to man — it also finished with a 112.5 defensive rating against one of the league’s most prolific offenses. If not for the Cavaliers’ get-ready group being outplayed over the final four minutes, it would’ve been yet another victory by at least 10 points.
“We’re not letting go of the rope — mentally or physically,” Atkinson said. “Against this team, better be prepared for the physical battle and we met that. We were the more aggressive team. A lot of teams when you lose your top guy there’s a big drop-off. For us, there’s very little drop-off. Obviously, Donovan is a superstar but then Evan steps it up and he had that flurry in the first half. He took some of the burden. Down the roster, we can’t forget the individual performances and it shows the talent and skill that we have.”
And let’s not forget the fun — on and off the court. It’s a characteristic that Atkinson has brought to the organization, one powering this historic group.
“They’re playing with joy,” Atkinson said. “But with that, you have to come out with force and focus. We did all the above. It was a stellar performance. Can’t allow slippage this time of year. We’re focusing on how to be an excellent playoff team.
“I think being in Nashville for a couple days helped.”