Jarrett Allen’s return gives Cavaliers a boost in these areas on both ends

Allen’s interior defense and rebounding on that end

Obviously, as we touched on earlier, Allen is one of the key reasons for the Cavaliers having one of the game’s most stout defenses; Cleveland is currently ranked first in defensive rating leaguewide, for context.

To the prior point, Allen’s interior defense is among the league’s elite, and with his rim protection, also combined with Mobley to a large degree, that’s been invaluable for the Cavs on that end of the floor in opposition of drivers, and that length deters shots in the paint.

Granted, the Lakers top paint scoring offense did work in that area on Tuesday, but Allen and the Cavaliers did tighten up in the fourth quarter, which was a driving force for them sparking a big run in that stretch. Forced turnovers, in that realm, gave the Cavs a jolt, too, along with Mitchell’s fourth quarter binge, of course.

In any case, while Allen’s interior defense is instrumental for the Cavaliers, and allows Mobley and others to be more dangerous off-ball, Allen’s defensive rebounding should pay dividends for Cleveland moving forward as well.

Now, credit to the Lakers’ offensive rebounding efforts, as they 14 offensive boards on Tuesday, but generally, Allen being back for the Cavs will be a notable boost for that area. Cleveland’s defensive rebounding percentage on the year has been fifth-best in the league, however, in the five games he was out, the Cavaliers were bottom-10 in the league in defensive rebounding percentage.

Kevin Love, one of the Cavs’ best defensive rebounders, missing three of those games (hairline fracture in his thumb) didn’t aid Cleveland there, either, as an aside. But overall, it’s apparent that Cleveland is far better when Allen can help secure defensive boards for extended stretches, as his positioning there, despite improvement from Evan, is still far better than Mobley’s.

Needless to say, Allen returning makes the Cavs just such a more well-rounded group on both ends of the floor, and seemingly a much more connected one at that.