The Cleveland Cavaliers are undefeated and playing beautiful basketball to start the season. The best part of it? It isn’t Donovan Mitchell putting the Cavs on his back every night. Five games into the season, Mitchell has only scored more than 30 points once. That’s because, under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, it’s a collective effort from Cleveland. Sure, there might be a player who stands out more than others. But with how the Cavs score in bunches and tighten down on defense, it truly is team-oriented basketball. However, against the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland’s stability on offense might not be possible if it weren’t for one player: big man Jarrett Allen.
In the Cavs’ undefeated start to the season, Allen has averaged 17.8 points on 79.1% shooting, 11.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. While they might not be the flashiest numbers, Allen’s consistency, his most significant attribute, can’t be tracked by counting stats. Night in and night out, Allen hustles away on defense, keeping Cleveland among the NBA’s very best. Conversely, the All-Star big man remains accurate and low maintenance, giving the Cavs a bread-and-butter play whenever he’s rolling toward the basket.
However, against Los Angeles, Allen was more than consistent. He was the driving force behind Cleveland’s building a lead and helped ensure the Cavs never relented. Cleveland likely would’ve suffered their first regular-season loss if it weren’t for Allen’s play. That’s how big the big man ended up being for the Cavs.
A big time night for Cavs big man Jarrett Allen against the Lakers
During the first half, Los Angeles made a concerted effort to get Cleveland big man Evan Mobley into foul trouble. It was a clever tactic on the part of Lakers head coach JJ Redick. Mobley has become a central piece for the Cavs on offense, so forcing Mobley into three first-half fouls and only scoring six points was a reasonable tactical decision.
However, focusing heavily on Mobley left Allen available to feast on Los Angeles’ interior. In the first half, Allen had 20 points on 8-9 shooting, 12 rebounds, and two blocked shots. It was his ninth career game where he had 20+ points, 15+ rebounds, and 2+ blocks. The stellar first half set the tone for a dominant overall game. When Atkinson called off the dogs after Cleveland beat Los Angeles soundly, Allen finished with 20 points on 9-12 shooting, 17 rebounds, and two blocked shots. Allen did it all impressively without fouling, taking his consistency to a new level.
“Whether it’s right hand, left hand, two hands, no hands, he’s been a huge help for all of us on both ends of the floor,” forward Georges Niang said postgame. “I don’t think he gets enough credit. We all think he should’ve been [one] last year. But, he’s coming back.”
Related Cleveland Cavaliers NewsArticle continues below
“He’s like homeowner’s insurance,” veteran big man Tristan Thompson said. “He’s always reliable!”
Instead of the Cavs needing to contain Lakers big man Anthony Davis, an early-on MVP frontrunner, Davis had to try and contain Allen. But, despite Davis’s best efforts, Allen was a wrecking crew for Cleveland. The always-reliable Allen set the tone early into the game for the Cavs, helping carry the load for Cleveland on either end of the floor.
“All the coaches were just talking in the locker room, and we were like, ‘Man, Jarrett Allen. Jarrett Allen,” said Atkinson. “He’s kind of dominating on both ends. He’s got that pivot game where he’ll catch, even if he’s stuck, he’ll pivot and pivot, and then he’ll dunk it. It’s [also] the rim protection, but we’re switching it a lot more this year. A ton more. And he can guard anybody. Cade Cunningham, LeBron, we’re switching him on everybody, and he’s just locking them down.”
A consistent and reliable presence like Allen is a godsend for any team. Thankfully, for the Cavs’ sake, Allen is one of one. Perhaps this year will be the year Allen earns his second All-Star appearance. But even if he doesn’t, his teammates will always view him like the star that he is.