Cleveland Cavaliers: Jarrett Allen is already proving his worth

Cleveland Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen starting to show off his potential during the 2020-21 season.

A casualty of the James Harden trade, Jarrett Allen was cast aside by the Brooklyn Nets in order to create a big three and try to win now. Their loss has been the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ gain.

While it was obvious that Allen had potential, fans questioned why the Cavs would add Allen to an already stacked frontcourt. The Cavs already had Andre Drummond, JaVale McGee, and Larry Nance Jr. on their roster, making Allen’s fit questionable.

However, Allen’s performance in his first start for the Cavs should be an indicator that he should not be slept on. In fact, he should be a full-time starter.

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Allen posted 23 points, 18 rebounds, and five blocks against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which also happened to be the first time in Cavaliers history that a player had notched that stat line. His performance was electric and lighted up the team in a standout performance.

While Allen’s stats were amazing, he also helps out the rest of his team. Allen’s presence on the court has helped the rest of the Cavaliers, particularly Darius Garland, with their own play on the court.

Allen is much better at understanding his role on the offensive end of the court when compared to starting big man Andre Drummond. Drummond often slows the play as he looks for the team to feed the post, meanwhile, Allen works well from the pick-and-roll, which benefits the game of Darius Garland.

The 22-year-old’s potential is crazy, with glimpses of his full potential being showcased during that historic game for Cleveland and throughout his career with the Brooklyn Nets. He has the ability to be a double-double machine every night, with Allen already averaging a near double-double off the bench with 11.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

If given starter minutes, which seems to be the plan as the Cavaliers are reportedly shopping Andre Drummond and JaVale McGee. Allen seems to be untouchable, which should showcase how much faith Cleveland has in the young man to be their anchor at the center position.

Seeing Drummond moved and Allen becoming the starter would benefit the young Cavs in growing as a strong unit for the future, as his offensive and defensive production will be crucial to Cleveland’s future success.

His defensive prowess is already being missed at Brooklyn, with the Nets dropping to the worst defensive rating in the league since Allen left in the Harden trade. While it could be easy to attribute that to James Harden’s poor defense, it is more due to the Nets not filling the void left by Allen (with Brooklyn themselves being one of the teams linked to Drummond).

While the Nets may have given him the boot, do not let that be an indicator of his value. Allen is definitely one to watch as he develops. The more fans see from Allen, the more he is going to be beloved by the Cleveland organization.

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The young big man has a bright future ahead, and this Cleveland team is going to be deadly in the next couple of seasons.

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