2 areas where Cavs’ Jarrett Allen needs to improve going forward

In January of 2021, the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Jarrett Allen in a blockbuster James Harden trade. Since then, Allen has become Cleveland’s defensive cornerstone, protecting the paint with tenacity, and he has recently become one half of the reason Cleveland consistently has one of the best defenses this season. The Cavaliers have the league’s top-ranked defense at the moment, and have been at or near the top in defensive rating all season long.

On top of this, Jarrett Allen typically served as the third scoring option in the starting five until Evan Mobley’s recent offensive explosion for the past month-plus. With this shift in role, though, comes questions as to Allen’s current fit with the Wine and Gold. There are only so many possessions in a game, and Cleveland has four starters who all deserve plenty of touches, with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland being the teams’ primary engines, too.

According to NBA.com, the Cavs are currently ranked 13th with 19 wins and 18 losses in the clutch. While Cleveland’s interior defense is formidable with Mobley and Allen, the two bigs’ offensive shortcomings cause the Cavs to depend too heavily on Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland isolation plays.

Taking a look at Jarrett Allen, here, take a closer look at two areas of improvement for him, especially, that could significantly bolster Cleveland’s chances to reach the upper echelon of the NBA.

With that in mind, we’ll first begin with crucial aspect of his game that could be a boost for his own interior play, along with opening up more driving lanes for others.