Cleveland Cavaliers: How the Cavs have emerged as a legit Finals contender
By Tyler Hurst
The frontcourt of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen
Much has been made about the NBA’s use of “small-ball” lineups to the point where a 6-foot-5 PJ Tucker even played center in his time with the Houston Rockets. Teams are beginning more and more to move away from “traditional bigs” to get more shooters on the floor, and they can still use those lineups for most teams, just not for the Cavaliers.
Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are both 7-foot bigs who immediately put stress on the opposition whenever they’re on the floor together. These big men are ultra-athletic and can beat you with jump shots just as easily as they can beat you on the low block.
Most teams usually only utilize one athletic big to match up with opposing players, but when you have two as the Cavaliers do, it’s nearly impossible to stop.
Both are averaging nearly 14 points per game, with Mobley tacking on six rebounds a game and Allen grabbing 11. Allen is also averaging nearly four offensive rebounds a game as well.
These two are perfect pick-and-roll threats for their athletic backcourt counterparts and if you sit down to watch these guys run pick-and-roll, you’ll be asking yourself how anybody stops it as the team is scoring on 47 percent of its pick-and-roll plays.