Cavs Notes: Kenny Atkinson, playoffs, Ty Jerome, Donovan Mitchell

But they haven’t clinched anything yet (entering Wednesday’s home game against New York). For now, the Cavs (60-15) have a four-game edge over defending champion Boston (56-19). That gives Cleveland a 93.7 percent chance of clinching the top seed in the East.

No matter, they don’t plan to back off until things are locked up.

“We’re not guaranteed the first seed by any means,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We still got work to do.”

Interestingly, five of the Cavs’ seven games are against opponents they very well could see in the postseason. Atkinson doesn’t care much about that either.

“I like that we’re playing good teams,” he said. “But we’re just worried about being sharp and playoff-ready.”

• Ty Jerome missed his fourth straight game with what’s being called “knee tendinitis,” but Atkinson continued to stress it’s nothing serious. “If this were a playoff game, he’d play,” Atkinson said before Wednesday’s game. “He wants to play. We just gotta get it figured out. It’s easy with guys like that. They self-direct.”
• Donovan Mitchell is a finalist for the NBA teammate award, and Atkinson says he’s not surprised. “Has he gotten a technical foul this year? I don’t think so,” Atkinson said. “He might be the most even-keeled player I’ve been around.”
• Atkinson added on Mitchell: “He empowers others. He’s got great awareness of where the team is … understanding where everybody is on the team. I can’t say enough about his leadership this year.”