Cavs’ Darius Garland is named East All-Star, but Jarrett Allen is snubbed

Well, I would like to personally reach out to the NBA for milking every available dollar out of All-Star Reserve Selection Show. However, when they finally announced the Eastern Conference reserves on NBA on TNT, it had to be a special moment for Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland. While simultaneously being a disappointing moment for center Jarrett Allen.

Garland was named an All-Star reserve, along with Jimmy Butler, James Harden, Zach LaVine, Fred VanFleet, Jayson Tatum, and Khris Middleton.

Garland is averaging 19.8 points per game, while dishing out a career-high 8.2 assists per game. He’s a large reason the Cavaliers are in the position they are right now, fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Unsurprisingly, Garland becomes the first Cavalier since LeBron James, and Kevin Love for that matter, in 2017-18 then, to make an All-Star appearance. New Cavalier guard Rajon Rondo had this to say about Garland recently, via Marla Ridenour of the Akron-Beacon Journal.

"“Right now I think he’s the best closer in the game,” Rondo said Saturday on Zoom before the Cavs departed for Detroit ahead of Sunday’s game against the Pistons. “I’ve played with a lot of talented players. The way he puts the weight on his shoulders, he pretty much has to make every play in the fourth, which he has been doing, especially in that stretch coming from the West Coast trip. I think it’s the best stretch of basketball I’ve seen a point guard play, 21 years old, in those tough environments and coming out with W’s. Every guy he matched up against, so-called All-Stars you want to claim, he busted their ass and he did it with the dub as well.”’"

On the other side of things, this had to be a very frustrating night for Jarrett Allen. Allen is playing the best basketball of his career this season, and was basically snubbed essentially in favor of the Milwaukee Bucks’ Khris Middleton, realistically.

This was a special moment for the Cavs’ Garland, but at the same time, disappointing for Allen.

As a Cavs fan, and a fan of basketball overall, it really doesn’t make a lot of sense that Middleton was the selection over Allen, seemingly. The small forward is averaging 19.6 points per game this season, while shooting 44 percent from the field and 38 percent from three. Allen on the other hand, is averaging a double-double with 16 points per game, while collecting nearly 11 rebounds per night. On top of that, a lot of the Cavaliers’ winning this year has come with a lot of help from Allen.

After signing an extension to stay in Cleveland over the summer, he’s continuing to look more and more like an absolute steal from the James Harden trade. However, as the big man has shown all season, I’m sure he was disappointed to not make the team, but being the ultimate professional that he has shown to be, he will be very happy for Garland, and the entire city of Cleveland.

Overall this is a momentous night for the Cavalier franchise. The team that plays on the shores of Lake Erie has had absolutely no success since LeBron James spurned the city the second time and moved out to Los Angeles. Fortunately, this season has been a glimmering light of hope that the franchise can be successful without the kid from Akron.

So with that being said, congratulations to Darius Garland, and a new Cavalier era.

And as a warning, some of the teams on the rest of the Cavs’ schedule better hope their big men are prepared, because Jarrett Allen is going to be out to prove himself in the coming months. He could potentially be named as injury replacement for Kevin Durant, but rest assured, this snub, either way, is added motivation for Allen.