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Will Cavs’ center Jarrett Allen make an All-Defense Team?

By Josh Cornelissen

Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images /
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Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images /

Will Jarrett Allen make All-Defense? 1. He deserves it

This is the easy part: Jarrett Allen deserves to make an All-Defense team. He has been absolutely dominant in the middle for the Cavaliers. The clearest illustration is in the leap the Cavs took in defensive rating from last season; after finishing 25th in 2020-21, they spent most of this season in the top-3 and have only dropped to seventh after losing Allen to injury.

Individually Allen is among the league’s best in most defensive metrics. He is in the top 20 in the league in nearly everything, from Defensive Rating to Block Percentage to Defensive Rebound Percentage. More intricate advanced stats paint a more impressive picture: 5th in Defensive EPM (Estimated Plus/Minus) and 6th in Defensive RAPTOR.

Allen has been absolutely dominant at the rim. He ranks in the Top 10 in volume of shots defended (7.1 rim attempts per game) and of all players defending at least five such shots per game he ranks first in field goal differential; that is, opposing players shoot 15.2 percent worse near the rim when he is the closest defender. Allen ranks just ahead of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Rudy Gobert in that statistic.

As a team the Cavs face the second-most shots from 0-3 feet, and yet teams are shooting the fourth-worst percentage on such shots. The Cavs ranked second in that statistic before Allen went down with his injury. Simply put, Allen is incredible as a defensive anchor, and because of the impact he has on the Cavs’ defense he is absolutely deserving of an All-Defense berth.