The Cleveland Cavaliers unfortunately continued their losing streak, extending it to eight, but regarding games this past week, they finished the week 0-4. That’s not including Cleveland’s L at the Golden State Warriors on Monday.
After a hard-fought start to the season, they have found themselves in quite the slump.
As of Monday, the Cavs and Andre Drummond/his agent, Jeff Schwartz, came to an agreement that he will remain on the roster, but will not suit up as the team continues to try finding a new home for him via trade, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst.
And in terms of a potential suitor, the Toronto Raptors and Cavs are reportedly in “active talks,” per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (subscription required). But regarding others that have been named/listed, you can view those here/with the full reported details, etc.
In any case, swinging back, though, in relation to the past week, who stood out on the Cavs, you ask?
The Cavs Player of the Week for Feb. 8-14 was Jarrett Allen.
The Player of the Week ironically is the player who will be replacing Drummond long-term, in Jarrett Allen. He rose to the occasion this past week, of which is not including that Warriors matchup in this sense, and he averaged 17.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He also did all of this while only playing 28.1 minutes per game in these collective games at the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers and LA Clippers.
As unfortunate as this losing streak has been, the Cavs expectations are beginning to realign to those many of us had at the beginning of the season. There is plenty of improvement upon last season, but the team still needs help.
Jarrett Allen at 22 years old looks the part of the starting center the Cavs can rely on and build upon. It is just another piece of the puzzle and a promising addition to the young core, and we should fully expect Allen will be locked up long-term this upcoming offseason, perhaps if a restricted offer sheet has to be matched.
The best part of his game compared to Drummond’s is Allen’s athletic capabilities and being able to be more viable in the open floor, making him viable against just about any lineup. The same cannot be said for Drummond, as any team with floor spacing bigs creates a problem for Drummond to defend.
Allen’s defensive and pick-and-roll skills will bode well for the team and create a good match with Darius Garland and the rest of the young core, looking onward.
Moreover, this was an important week for Allen, who had 22 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 24 minutes at Portland on Friday, and he surely earned the starting job going forward.
Hopefully, the Cleveland Cavaliers can gain back some sort of their lost momentum in this upcoming week, while also scoring a meaningful asset in any potential deal involving Drummond, if/when he’ll eventually be dealt, ideally.
For this past week of games from Feb. 8-14 for the Cavs, it’s also worth noting Collin Sexton had a solid week putting up 22 points or more in three of the four games while averaging 5.0 assists a game.