Grading the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bigs so far this season

Examining Allen’s play so far

Jarrett Allen wasn’t named an All-Star this season, and his offensive splits are down a bit in 2022-23. But neither of those things have indicated he’s been any less impactful for Cleveland.

Allen has still had robust numbers of 14.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per outing, and he’s third in the NBA in shot contests per game (11.8), per NBA.com’s hustle data. His rim protection is essential for the Cavaliers, and in the same breadth, his communication, length and development into one of the games’ more competent switching 5s have all made him one of the most valuable Cavaliers.

Allen has taken continual strides on both ends of the floor for the Cavaliers, as he’s one of the franchises’ defensive pillars, as we noted, and his offensive footwork, finishing skill and low-post play have taken further steps forward.

His rolling and screening activity will always be well-known, but he’s gotten better and better as a finisher with touch as well. He has been able to take advantage consistently on the low block to convert plays, either to punish less physical players or from Allen using his quickness/ball fakes to beat slower matchups.

Also, while the splits don’t necessarily illuminate it, Allen has made subtle improvements with his passing in set offense, and his decision-making out of the short roll has been better over the course of the past two seasons.

Allen’s 2022-23 grade so far: A-

There have been some clunkers here and there for Allen from time to time, and he does need to cut down on turnovers a bit on-ball, but he’s been every bit as effective as he was last season. An “A-” grade is nothing to sneeze at.