Handing out Cleveland Cavaliers midseason awards

Mr. Double-Double Award: Jarrett Allen

Jarrett Allen already has 24 double-doubles on the season. He had 25 of them all of last season, so it’s an impressive accomplishment.

He’s been a huge reason why the team has been so consistent in their play, and nearly every night, Allen’s energy and drive down around the rim is outstanding. He seemed to realize early on this season that his efforts were needed more, and he has delivered.

In a seven-game stretch in November, Allen had seven double-doubles in a row. This season, he’s averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Cavs are going to need Allen to keep up the strong efforts if they want to reach the postseason.

Best Dunk: Isaac Okoro dunks over three Houston Rockets

Do you remember the Cavs’ 124-89 route over the Houston Rockets in December? Houston was shorthanded, but it doesn’t take away from Isaac Okoro’s thunderous jam from that one.

Midway through the third quarter, Okoro took off on a drive and slammed home a two-handed dunk between three Rockets players converging all at once in a triangle to stop Okoro. He would have none of that as all three Rockets were left stunned and silent in the wake of the monstrous throwdown.

Best Individual Game Performance: Garland’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, scoring 27 points and dishing out18 assists

The team was down18 points in the second half in a recent game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But the team kept getting closer and Darius Garland was helping the cause in a big way.

He dished out a career-best 18 assists and scored 27 points, and the Cavaliers were able to make the comeback and won 107-102 and ran away with the win on the last game of a six-game road trip.

Best Cavs team win: 102-101 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 5

It was an early-season game on the docket that was a key indicator that this season was going to be different and more successful than previous years. The Cavs went down early on the road against a decent Toronto Raptors team, and they hadn’t beaten the Raptors in Toronto in over a decade.

After being down by 10 at the halfway point, the Wine and Gold kept chipping away and eventually took the lead on two free throws by Darius Garland to escape Toronto with the victory.

Here’s to hoping the Cavaliers keep up their strong play from the season’s first half, and get back in the postseason.