CLEVELAND — Kenny Atkinson‘s first season with the Cavaliers went about as smoothly as it possibly could have.

His second year, though, is off to a much rockier start. And if Atkinson is to navigate the Cavs through this more difficult stretch, the coach who helped prepare him for it was coaching from the opposite bench at Rocket Arena on Dec. 6.

Atkinson received his first taste as an NBA head coach with the Brooklyn Nets over parts of four seasons. After leaving Brooklyn, Atkinson made his way through the coaching ranks again, and it was working under Warriors coach Steve Kerr that readied him, in his mind, to finally have a more complete view on how to lead a team.

If Atkinson had already earned a degree in his coaching progression, working under Kerr was akin to graduate school.

“It was finishing school for me, seeing a great leader like Steve, how he conducted [himself], really coached through crises at times,” Atkinson said pregame Dec. 6. ” You go through tough times, and I thought he was brilliant, and obviously we had a lot of high-tension, pressure-filled games, and you’re right there observing all this.

“Steve understands leadership as well as anybody in the biz, any coach I’ve been around.”

Aktinson worked under Kerr as an assistant with the Warriors for three seasons, from 2021-22 to 2023-24. That run included a NBA title in 2022. But when asked about what he learned from Kerr, it wasn’t all the success, it was how Kerr handled the more difficult circumstances along the way.

“There’s a difference between a risk-taker and then a risk-taker when pressure situations come,” Atkinson said. “I think to win big, or anything, you’ve got to be able to take risks, and really that really stuck with me. He was willing to roll with it. There was not doubt we’re doing this, let’s go. That was cool to see.”

Cleveland Cavaliers record, schedule results

This season has offered the chance for it all to be applied. After cruising to a 64-win season with near-perfect health, at least until the playoffs, the Cavs have yet to play a minute of full-strength basketball this season, and most games have featured several players in the rotation being unavailable. That injury situation, plus playing 15 games in 27 days and other game-heavy stretches, has the Cavs 14-11 and fighting off some frustration.

Atkinson’s time with the Warriors taught him how to hold some big-picture perspective. Nobody remembers the first Golden State team of that era at one point lost nine games in an 11-game stretch, and seven of eight in another span.

“Yeah, everybody thinks it was a smooth ride in Golden State — had a great team, it definitely wasn’t smooth,” Atkinson said. “Nothing was screaming ‘championship’ during that season. As a matter of fact, oh my gosh, it was falling apart a little bit. But that’s where Steve’s experience and having been in so many different situations [helped].”

Although the Cavs haven’t been pleased with their first 25 games, they also know they have time. And seeing Kerr handle similar regular seasons has helped Atkinson from overreacting too early, even though the sense of urgency might be slowly ticking upward.

“I feel like at this point in my career, I’m similar. I’ve seen how a lot of these seasons can go up and down, and how they can change,” Atkinson said. “I’ve been, I would say, a lot more calm than maybe if it was 10 years ago when I was first coaching [in the NBA]. I’d probably be a lunatic right now, yelling at the guys to play hard.

“We do a little of that, but it’s understanding, getting your perspective, understanding the big picture.”

It’s a tactic Atkinson will need to put to good use after the Cavs suffered their ugliest loss of the season to date against those same Warriors.