We haven’t seen Jarrett Allen in there for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the past seven games due to a concussion. Clearly, with the jammed-in layout of the schedule this season in the NBA, and fairly limited practice time to boot, that’s likely also played into the absences even more so in this stretch of absences.
With concussions, either way, though, one can’t have a true timetable, and hopefully Jarrett is recovering fully over time here. We’ll have to see when Allen is back, but one could perhaps foresee that being sooner rather than later, so maybe some point next week?
Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor reported on Saturday that both Allen and Larry Nance Jr. (illness) could be back on Wednesday at the Charlotte Hornets, which was a plus. Both of those players could’ve helped Cleveland on Saturday, a game when the Cavs did make it more respectable ultimately, but conceded a franchise-record 87 first half points to the Toronto Raptors, who were without Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet (yikes)!
And Allen is likely set to be out in the second leg of Cleveland’s home back-to-back on Sunday versus the New Orleans Pelicans, as an added site note.
The Cavs ideally want Allen back well in the fold in there, given how well he’s typically played thus far since being acquired via trade from the Brooklyn Nets in the James Harden mega deal.
Allen, who had been set as seemingly the starting 5 of the future for a considerable stretch prior to the concussion, has had 13.8 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per outing with the Cavs. And on the year, given his interior finishing prowess/timing as a lob threat, he’s been third in field goal percentage among qualified NBA players this season at 63.3 percent, per Basketball Reference.
A positive with the Allen recent absences, and more recently, though, has been how Isaiah Hartenstein has performed since being acquired via trade from the Denver Nuggets near the league’s trade deadline a few weeks back.
Hartenstein has had 10.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.7 blocks in 23.8 minutes per appearance in five games so far with Cleveland, and looks to have been a quality add. The Cavs of course acquired him from Denver in exchange for JaVale McGee, and two future second-round picks, and Cleveland generated a $4.2 million trade exception for McGee, for what it’s worth.
Anyway, while I was pleased with how McGee played for the Cavs in his half season with them as a backup 5, and he should help the Nuggets as a battle-tested rotational big, Hartenstein has done a nice job in his opportunities.
And when factoring in Allen, too, when he’s back, that’s quite the tandem of 5s.
When Allen’s back, the Cavs will have quite the 1-2 punch at the 5 with Hartenstein, too.
We know what Jarrett provides for the Cavs when he’s able to go in terms of the rim protection, putback/rebounding element, energy and the constant lob threat for Darius Garland and company, and he’s Cleveland’s future at the starting 5.
That’s assuming he is locked up long-term in this upcoming offseason, and while Allen won’t be cheap necessarily, he’ll be more than worth it.
From there, while it’s been obviously just a six-game sample size with Cleveland, Hartenstein, who was not given much of a chance with the Houston Rockets in his first two seasons, and had fairly spotty minutes with Denver behind Nikola Jokic, has had more opportunities here.
Hartenstein has helped the Cavs in a number of ways
Hartenstein has proven to be a capable roller and occasional lob threat, and has actually shown nice touch on push shots, too, which has been nice to see.
And though it’s not something I’m going to expect regularly, Hartenstein has at least flashed some pick-and-pop/spot-up potential and has hit two-of-five from three-point range with the Cavs.
There’s been some occasional driving instances from Hartenstein when matched up against traditional 5s in rotational burn, too, and in said instances, Hartenstein has shown some viability by utilizing good ball fakes and getting to better angles for looks.
Considering he’s just 22, what Hartenstein has shown offensively with Cleveland in backup 5 burn, he looks to have far more potential on that end than JaVale McGee. In that realm, Hartenstein’s passing has been impressive as well, and that’s been a particularly promising development when he’s been given run thus far with the Cavs.
Now, on the defensive end, Hartenstein does provide a rim protection presence, and could be fine in doing so for spurts in relief of Allen, when Jarrett is back, but it’s abundantly that Hartenstein does need to trim down his fouling regardless. Isaiah, although inexperience likely has had some to do with it, does have a whopping 6.8 fouls per-36 minutes this year, and that’s been still 4.8 per-36 with Cleveland.
He has aided the Cavs’ efforts on the interior at both ends, though, and Hartenstein has been, similarly to Allen, an active and timely screener, which is always impactful as well.
Hartenstein looks to be a player the Cavs might keep around moving forward
While it’s tough to tell if the former Rocket and Nugget will stick around, the flashes we’ve seen from Hartenstein does lead me to think that he could be a player the Cavaliers may want around in the near future, too.
He has a $1.8 million player option for next season, but based on what he’s shown with the Cavs so far, one would imagine he’ll have his share of interest.
Although when Allen is back in the fold, and also Nance to some extent, it’s tough to foresee just how much burn Hartenstein will be getting, he still should get enough to have his imprint on games. And I could foresee that being more than McGee, even.
Hartenstein, again when hitting on the passing abilities he’s demonstrated, too, has exceeded expectations to this point with Cleveland.
Our own Mack Perry seemingly highlighted that recently as well, and the perimeter shooting potential with Hartenstein, and perhaps Allen down the road, who has shown flashes in that regard, too, is particularly intriguing.
And just thinking/projecting onward, Hartenstein and Allen, who turns 22 later this month, would form quite the impactful and youthful, which is key, 1-2 punch at the 5 for the Cavaliers. We’ll again have to see if Hartenstein, who turns 23 next month, will be back as of this upcoming offseason, though.