Cavs: Isaac Okoro hits on impact of Evan Mobley-Jarrett Allen duo on D

Heading into the upcoming season, it’s evident that the Cleveland Cavaliers should have two formidable rim protectors regularly involved in the rotation in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, who appear to be starting 4 and 5.

Mobley was Cleveland’s #3 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, and Allen, who was acquired early on last season from the Brooklyn Nets via trade, was signed to a five-year, $100 million deal in August.

Now, the Cavs invested heavily in the moves involving both; I’m not disputing that. We’ll have to see how viable they are in the regular season, as Allen is not a perimeter shooting presence, and Mobley does need to progress further in his catch-and-shoot game over time to be more of a threat out there to improve spacing.

There have been plenty of flashes from Mobley as a spot-up player, dating back to his high school days and even with him hitting only 30.0 percent from three at USC last season, there is potential there. He does have great touch in other areas, though, and his passing and driving abilities, even for a 7-footer, are notable.

We will have to see, anyhow, and guys such as Lauri Markkanen, who seems set for starter’s minutes, and to some extent, Kevin Love, will factor in in relation to bigs for Cleveland.

But when it comes to the Mobley-Allen duo, it is apparent that when they’re in there, it could very well be a formidable defensive pairing, and they should make a difference for the Cavs on that end together. To that point, this from Isaac Okoro in recent media availability from Wednesday did jump out, from my perspective, via Evan Dammarell of Fear The Sword and the “Locked on Cavs” podcast.

Cavs: Okoro highlighted how the Mobley-Allen duo will make quite an impact defensively.

It has only been preseason play so far for him, but Mobley looks to have the makings of an outstanding defender.

The fluidity he has, his shot contests and his rim protection should make him a big-time impact defensive player from the jump, and to Okoro’s point, in minutes with Allen, it could enable other Cavs to apply more ball pressure. That’s at least to some extent, I would think, also based on Okoro’s comments.

Allen is not the switchable defensive player Mobley is against perimeter-laiden guard/wings and bigs, however, he’s more of a legitimate option at this point than Mobley against more traditional 5s. And as was noted, Allen still alters his share of shots in the paint.

It will take some time for Mobley and Allen, and with the rookie and others, feasibly, to get fully comfortable with their rotational timing/help, one would think, but with Mobley’s awareness and with Allen being an intelligent defender inside, I don’t believe that adjustment will be too concerning.

Whether it’s been in lineups with Okoro, Lauri Markkanen as a supersized 3, and/or others, having these two as helpers behind the perimeter guys should be a defensive boost for Cleveland, as Okoro’s comments emphasized. Their length in passing/cutting lanes should enable the Cavs to get out and run more, which should help out guys such as Darius Garland, Collin Sexton and Okoro, to go with trailers such as Markkanen and/or Dylan Windler.

It will again take some time to iron out the finer details, sure, that said, Mobley is hardly a normal rookie in regards to his spacial awareness, on both ends, really, but especially defensively, his feel is off the charts.

He’s had 2.0 blocks per contest in four preseason games, and I don’t believe that number is that far-fetched for a regular season average, provided he ends up playing starter’s minutes, which I’d fully expect him to.

And as Okoro hit on, with his agility/fluidity and timing, combined with Allen being an impact rim protector, and affecting drivers/cutters throughout games with his paint presence, it can enable perimeter guys to be more aggressive at times. That could maybe lead to more timely rotations on the outside, leading to more deflections or just opponents being less capable as far as generating drive-and-kicks, interior looks and/or free throws.

Of course, we need to see how this defensive duo does in regular season play, and we’ll have to see if they can play significant stretches together on offense, but Okoro’s comments did resonate with me for this defensive duo’s potential. That’s particularly with how they could help Garland and Sexton, I’d think.