1 stud, 1 dud in Cavs dispiriting loss to short-handed Bulls

1 dud in Cavs loss to Bulls: Jarrett Allen

Jarrett Allen is in the midst of an All-Star campaign, with an excellent shot at making the team for the first time in his career. That can be true while still acknowledging that his outing on Wednesday night against the Bulls was brutal.

Offensively Allen was largely quiet, which is inexcusable against a soft set of defensive big men. He shot 2-for-5 for the game, scoring six points. Nikola Vucevic gave up huge scoring nights to players like Day’Ron Sharpe, Brandon Clarke and even Al Horford in recent games, but Allen couldn’t seem to get into good position or convert. Lauri roasted this frontcourt, as he should; Allen couldn’t get anything going. Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan is one of the worst defensive 4-5 pairings in the league, and Allen couldn’t take advantage.

Defensively he in turn was roasted by Nikola Vucevic, including being blown by trying to contest on the perimeter and being schooled on the block by Vucevic’s post moves. He had some decent moments, but there are a half-dozen plays the defensive coaches will be going over with Allen on tape. That kind of mediocre night is not up to his normal standards.

Allen was a -10 on the night and had a whopping four turnovers to match his season-high. Allen didn’t chuck 20 shots or play matador defense, but he is usually a hyper-efficient force inside who blocks shots (just one against the Bulls) and walls off the rim. He did none of that well on Wednesday night.

Overall the Cavs were in the game late on the road against the team in first place in the standings. The Bulls were missing LaVine and Ball, true, but the Cavs are playing without Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio. They were down just one point with four minutes to go against a team that shot lights out from deep; these games happen, and the Cavs should still feel good moving forward.