Last season was a career year for Cleveland Cavaliers 5 Jarrett Allen. Allen had career-bests in points and rebounds per game, with 16.1 and 10.8, respectively, and he helped anchor quite the defensive turnaround for the Cavaliers.
For his efforts, Allen eventually made his first All-Star appearance, and repped the then-hometown Cavaliers with teammate Darius Garland on Team LeBron. It was a heck of a season for Allen and Garland, in that realm, and they look to both be pillars for Cleveland from here.
Allen, as we emphasized, had his best season as a pro, and after there was seemingly a considerable share of criticism for the Cavaliers giving him a new five-year, $100 million deal last offseason, Allen had a very nice start to further proving why that deal was warranted. His defensive work, in particular, in tandem with Evan Mobley was crucial for the Wine and Gold in what was a resurgent campaign, too.
Allen did also made strides with his offensive game for the Cavaliers last season as well, and that was really encouraging to see. He was hyper-efficient once again, placing second in the NBA in field goal percentage among qualified players (67.7 percent), per Basketball Reference, and as he was pre-trade back with the Brooklyn Nets.
Nonetheless, it does seem as if Allen’s scoring could decline a bit after the 2021-22 season, but that might not be too concerning, given the other things he does.
Allen’s scoring output for the Cavs could decline a bit this coming season, or potentially past that; still, that may not matter.
It was good to see Allen not only make plays as a roller/lob threat last season, as while that’s always going to be something fruitful, he exhibited growth as an interior scorer with footwork, skill and better touch.
Allen showed tangible development in his touch in the lane, and made his presence felt on hook shots with both hands after effective seals to gain position on the interior. He was much more comfortable making decisions after establishing position in those situations, and a vet mentor in Robin Lopez should aid Allen in his continued development offensively, too.
Allen also flashed some driving ability a bit against opposing bigs, which is something he can hopefully build on from here. Allen did a nice job using quick bursts and subtle ball fakes to get to favorable spots and/or register free throws at times here and there on those plays.
As we hinted at previously though, with the others in the fold, despite me not downplaying the Allen offensive developments displayed last year, the scoring could dip a bit from Allen next year.
This is with Caris LeVert likely having his chances to find his footing after a full offseason with Cleveland, and if Sexton is back, regardless of who ultimately starts more if they’re both around, I’d expect Sexton to get his share of looks, too. Both of those players could provide a notable scoring punch, and Sexton, pre-injury, has shown marketed improvements as an off-ball shooter.
Along with those two, to me, an Evan Mobley offensive leap seems imminent, given the shot creation flashes he demonstrated throughout last season, and after a full offseason to have worked on his game.
From there, I’d imagine we’ll see Lauri Markkanen pick up where he left off last season, and appear much more comfortable at the outset of the coming season. And I’d think Kevin Love should again be a key bench shooting presence, provided he’s mostly healthy.
Lastly, while he’ll be a significant playmaker, at least in a rotational sense when he’s back from injury, seemingly in December/January, Ricky Rubio could factor into things scoring-wise, too, based on how he performed last season. Granted, I’m well aware that Allen himself would stand to benefit immensely from Rubio’s vision in that realm.
But overall, I’d imagine the usage for Allen could drop some this coming season with the aforementioned guys in the fold. With Allen’s hyper-efficient play, however, and if the Cavs can just be healthier in 2022-23, and hopefully with Mobley taking the next step, with the defensive abilities of Allen, too, that may not matter.
As an aside, the Lopez signing could help preserve Allen more next season, too, to some degree. And I don’t gloss over that.