Cavs’ Jarrett Allen looks to be among best two-way 5s from here

Allen’s defensive impact is consistently there, and his two-way play will only get better

So, from there, regarding the two-way element, Allen formed quite a defensive frontcourt pairing with Evan Mobley, for the most part, this season when the two were healthy. Allen’s fractured finger caused him to miss most of post-All-Star break play, and the Cavs defense was not close to the same, with some other guys periodically missing time, too. Dean Wade’s partial meniscus tear for some of the closing stretch didn’t help, either, for example.

Generally, however, we have seen how much of a shot alterer Allen can be with Cleveland, and he was impactful with Brooklyn in that realm, too. Allen was fifth in the NBA in contested shots per game during the 2021-22 regular season, with Mobley checking in third, both per NBA.com’s hustle data.

Looking onward, with those two as the defensive backline it seems for Cleveland for significant stretches, it should bode well for the Wine and Gold. And despite Cleveland’s slide post-All-Star break, partially due to Allen’s absence, the team did still finish fifth in defensive rating.

In terms of Allen himself, his shot blocking/altering was again noteworthy, and he had 1.3 blocks per contest, to just 1.7 fouls per game, which was unreal. He should be able to build on this great defensive season with more experience as well.

With the Frobley duo’s verticality and timing, too, that sort of thing led to the Cavs conceding the lowest field goal hit rate in the restricted area in the regular season at 60.5 percent, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data. That was mixed in with some activity from guys like Isaac Okoro, Lamar Stevens and Lauri Markkanen around them, too, to some degree.

Also, I don’t gloss over how Allen demonstrated some switchability this past season onto some guards and wings at times when that was sensible. Though I’m not going to stamp the switch 5 label on him yet, Allen does move pretty well laterally for a 5, and that’s another part of why he’s trending way up as one of the game’s best 5 men, regarding the two-way impact on games.

Anyhow, while I’m not suggesting Allen is among the elite crop of 5s at the moment, but if he can add some more to his offensive game as a shooter, he could potentially be near that group down the road. The 6-foot-10 Texas product is already a terrific finisher with authority as a lob threat, as a roller and putback guy, and his post-up game is trending up.

So, based on his time with the Cavs, his All-Star breakout and with his defense, Allen looks to have more All-Star appearances in his future, I believe. And he just recently turned 24.