Jarrett Allen: Nice Head of Hair

[InBoobieWeTrust]

The problem is that we are too deeply committed to too many bad defenders…would be complicated to try to max out our defense

Im not sure the Cavs are deeply committed to anyone besides Allen and Mobley, Okoro and Garland. That’s one 7 footer who’s a plus defender. One guard who projects as a plus defender and already is defending well. One 7 footer who is a potential future DPOTY. And one bad defender in Garland.

they are not deeply committed to Sexton, they’re very much weighing that and will use this year to do so. They’re counting down the days on Loves contract. And Markannen has some years and $ left but he’s moveable if they wanted to.

the Cavs roster is actually in a place where they can take a lot of different directions over the next 2 years which will be very important years in the grand scheme of building a tram around Mobley.

 

[Man Called X]

the Cavs roster is actually in a place where they can take a lot of different directions over the next 2 years which will be very important years in the grand scheme of building a tram around Mobley.

Oooh, bringing back the streetcar era!

 

[Cavatt]

The vast majority of us are all going to be affected by recency bias. Heading in to the offseason, the recent end of season games were discouraging/confusing.

First few games of this season for JA have been brilliant. It is worth noting though that he did have similar small stretches, especially in the first few weeks after the trade. The tweet about his Feb 21 and Feb 24 games that rivaled his stat line from last night demonstrate that.

I'm not trying to put a damper on things. I love everything Ive seen this season from JA but there will be games or even stretches of games where for whatever reason( fatigue, season wear and tear, matchup, randomness, bad team play affecting him etc) he will have a bad game or even stretch of bad, less involved and dynamic games.

He's 4/4 on really good to great games this season so that what we have to go by and discuss and its awesome.

The positive thing for me is he has shown actual growth.

He's switching on the perimeter and he looks great. He was pretty much exclusively playing drop coverage last year. His ability to switch with both Mobley and Lauri has been amazing and has helped a lot with the 3 pt defense which was horrible last year and in the first 2 games.

He's playmaking. He looked so uncomfortable doing dribble hand offs and passing the ball last year to anyone but the main ball handler. THis year he is actually finding guys from the top of the key, and he looks much more comfortable with the dribble hand off. I am especially impressed with this. I really thought it was his biggest offensive weakness last year because it stood out in contrast to Hartenstein, Love, Larry and even Drummond who were all using their passing very effectively from the top of the key and 3 pts line DHO's.

His footwork looks improved. He is doing more pivots and turns around the basket to generate good angles and seal his man. Great finishing at surprising angles has looked awessome. Very encouraged by that. Jokic was demoralized that he couldn't stop the guy.

Strength. He seems significantly stronger. He got pushed around a lot last year in certain matchups. We still haven't seen him fight Embiid or anything, but I think he will fare better there this year.

I was down on Allen's upside admittedly. I thought he was more of a finished product. I am looking forward to him adding more and being more of an offensive player and maybe even a spacer. Still, seems silly to want him at the 3 pt line right now with how efficient he is in the paint.

I'd say as of today, Allen is easily our most improved player. We kept talking about Collin or Darius, but if Allen keeps playing like this, he might have a shot at that award.

 

[cavsfever]

Allen scoring 17 ppg at a true shooting percentage of over 80% (!!) means he is one of the few bigs where you don’t have to give a damn if he develops a three point shot LOL

granted that either the shooting percentage or the scoring will go down, it would be historically unprecedented to stay at that level for that scoring volume over a season, but even seeing it for the beginning of the season is demonstrating potential I didn’t realize he had

 

[wnorman51]

I think JA's vast improvement shows just how much the lack of practice and offseason limited the team. You couldn't put in that backside action to the offense, so all we had was playside boring pick and roll. You couldn't practice enough to get comfortable attacking the pick and roll instead of playing drop coverage. You couldn't practice enough to know where guys are going to be and how to hit them in rhythm in their spots. This year, we are seeing really good backside action, a lot of creative defensive strategies against P&R, and are drastically better with assists.

I am excited to see what other issues may have been caused as much by the logistics of the season, as the actual quality of the team and player. I'm looking at Cedi bouncing back, Sexton finding some more ways to distribute within the offense (i've already seen some of that, but guys are missing the shots so CS is not getting the assist numbers), and maybe even have Okoro find some clever ways to get some energy buckets early to get him going when he has to hit that kick out 3 pointer.

Exciting start to the season gang!

 

[Lee]

Im not sure the Cavs are deeply committed to anyone besides Allen and Mobley, Okoro and Garland. That’s one 7 footer who’s a plus defender. One guard who projects as a plus defender and already is defending well. One 7 footer who is a potential future DPOTY. And one bad defender in Garland.

they are not deeply committed to Sexton, they’re very much weighing that and will use this year to do so. They’re counting down the days on Loves contract. And Markannen has some years and $ left but he’s moveable if they wanted to.

the Cavs roster is actually in a place where they can take a lot of different directions over the next 2 years which will be very important years in the grand scheme of building a tram around Mobley.

I am not sure even Okoro and Garland they are deeply committed too. They have young talent, but I see only one untradeable piece at this point in Mobley. It might take allot to get Allen for example, but if some team comes a calling and offers us something stupid, i bet we take it.

If someone like Ingram becomes available, do you think we dont trade Okoro or maybe even Garland if that is the demand? I would consider it, I like Garland allot, but he is easier to replace than a 6'8 sharp shooting and athletic small forward with good court vision.

 

[2 For The Brew]

There are currently zero Cavaliers making > $20 mil / year AND with > two seasons on their contract. Jarrett Allen at 5 yrs & $100 million looks like a great deal; we’re only committed to Markkanen for three years and Kevin for two.

“Tiiiiiiiiiiiime is on our side, yes it is”

If we can actually make this tri-towers lineup work then other teams are going to have a problem matching up against us. There simply aren’t a lot of mobile 7 footers out there.

But of course the NBA has evolved and size doesn’t matter

 

[weepinwillow]

There are currently zero Cavaliers making > $20 mil / year AND with > two seasons on their contract. Jarrett Allen at 5 yrs & $100 million looks like a great deal; we’re only committed to Markkanen for three years and Kevin for two.

“Tiiiiiiiiiiiime is on our side, yes it is”

If we can actually make this tri-towers lineup work then other teams are going to have a problem matching up against us. There simply aren’t a lot of mobile 7 footers out there.

But of course the NBA has evolved and size doesn’t matter

The dirty secret is the NBA looks like it re-evolved again, with bigger and bigger guys being able to play in space. Big guys who can't be pick and rolled off the floor are going to be more and more in demand if they aren't already.

 

[Dr No]

All the buzz has been on Mobley's defense (for good reason), but JA has been really good as well. I realize Gobert owns the center position for defensive honors, but could JA earn some all-defense votes this year? if he keeps up this level of play, what other centers are better on D?

 

[ansatsusha80]

I know its too early but he's been looking great so far. Im gonna give him 30 or 35 more game until I say I was wrong about him but Ive been highly impressed by him especially his perimeter defense. Allen was switched on PG a few times and did a good job on him...

 

[Simmy]

The dirty secret is the NBA looks like it re-evolved again, with bigger and bigger guys being able to play in space. Big guys who can't be pick and rolled off the floor are going to be more and more in demand if they aren't already.

Great call. I think it's why this team has worked to an extent to begin the season. Lauri, JA and Mobley are all versatile bigs that are quick, can move their feet, and cover for defensive deficiencies. The reality is, good offense will beat good defence 9 times out of 10, but as of now, I like where the Cavs are headed and the way they're evolving the game and confusing opponents. The game against LA on Friday will be super interesting.

 

[Nphan]

Guys a beast but he needs to work on stamina or we need another good center in here to let him rest because he was looking like he was about to faint out there in the 4th Quarter.

 

[ice cream man]

I still feel like he needs a little more lower body strength. Once he and Mobley improve in that area, look out.

 

[Muffinalt]

The dirty secret is the NBA looks like it re-evolved again, with bigger and bigger guys being able to play in space. Big guys who can't be pick and rolled off the floor are going to be more and more in demand if they aren't already.

Yeah, especially with more and more guys entering like Banchero, Holmgren and ... uhh Wembanyama. That guy is going to flip things on it's head.

Very awesome that we are at the forefront of this trend. Not a lot of teams will have someone to matchup with Wembanyama, but we already have Mobley +.

 

[CleveRocks]

Minnesota also have defensive success with a long front court.. 6'9, 6'9, 6'11. Plus a 6'5 , 6'4 back court..

I think, if your guys are mobile, athletic, then taller is better in the front court.. We talk about putting muscle on Allen and Mobley, but if that slows them down, it diminishes the ability to cover on switches..

Also a guy like Allen can be more aggressive defending out side the paint if he knows another active big has his back, so there is no back door.. if you look at the Hunter clip, you see Love doing a very nice job of guarding the paint and boxing out and the third big is free to grab the rebound when Hunter gives up and lofts a hail mary..

Mark is the weaker link defensively.. but he is also pretty mobile for his size.. much more so than Love.. He is more of a threat on offense , so there is a net positive with him.. But if you replaced him with (healthy) Durant for example, the team would be in the playoff hunt..

IF Mobley develops a 35/40% three, you can pick up another mobile pf/ center like Bobby Portis, and replace Mark with Mobely. If not then you could pick up a Cam Johnson, or Reddish type to replace Mark..

Or if Mark starts playing actual defense, and or draining those three, you keep him..