Cavs’ Jarrett Allen has workmanlike outing in return vs. Nets

It was relieving to see Jarrett Allen back in action for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Allen had missed Cleveland’s previous four outings with an eye contusion, in which he suffered on March 10 in a loss at the Miami Heat.

The Cavaliers did go 3-1 without Allen in there, and the group did what they needed to do, to a large degree, to secure wins sans Allen in that chunk of games.

Having said that, Allen has proven to be a crucial player for Cleveland. His interior presence on both ends of the floor is essential for the Wine and Gold, and he and Evan Mobley form one of the league’s best defensive duos.

Point being, it was meaningful for Allen to be back in the fold, and on Tuesday, he was once again, in a game at his former club, in the Brooklyn Nets, a potential playoff opponent. It was closer than it should have been in the first game of this latest miniseries for Cleveland, but the Cavs secured the 115-109 win from Donovan Mitchell’s star power, the teams’ defensive playmaking and a few huge runs.

Circling back, though, it was reassuring to have seen Allen back doing what he does, and while there’s room for improvement for the group and on the glass, he still made his presence felt throughout.

Allen had some rust, sure, but overall, he had a workmanlike outing in his return for the Cavs at the Nets.

Allen wasn’t quite as active in the early going of the contest on Tuesday, and the Cavs as a group had some problems getting on the same page on both ends. The Nets had a 30-point first quarter, and were getting quality looks.

From there, Cleveland largely controlled the contest, with a 38-point second quarter to boot, and Allen, Evan Mobley, Caris LeVert and the Cavs forced their share of turnovers. Now, Cleveland had their own problems later in the game in that realm, which played into the Nets making a game of it, to some extent, in the closing minutes.

But, it was an encouraging for the Cavaliers, and to reiterate, Allen being back in the fold was an additional positive takeaway. He was a bit off as a finisher, and shot five-of-11, though he was again active on the glass, with 14 rebounds, and he did have 12 points. Allen tallied eight offensive rebounds, and his screening and rolling gravity helped the team in set offense, which should not be discounted for the driving threats.

Defensively, Nic Claxton did convert on some plays against Allen, who seemed a bit rusty in that area at times, however, coming off his eye injury absence, one shouldn’t overreact to that. And for what it’s worth, even with him back, and he did still have a solid last game, his eye is still reportedly not 100 percent.

Fortunately, it did not bother him in the contest, and while there is still some “blurriness” in his eye, and that’s likely to be there for a few more weeks, per a report from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, this injury outcome was still a huge relief for Allen and the team. As Allen emphasized postgame, and as Fedor alluded to in the report, Allen’s injury can’t get worse from playing, and it didn’t affect him, at least he said. So that’s more good news after what looked to have been a very concerning sight roughly two weeks back, and hopefully, in coming games, he’ll get more comfortable.

Granted, as it pertained to the defensive end, no matter the circumstances, Brooklyn outrebounding the Cavaliers, to the tune of 19 offensive boards, including nine by Day’Ron Sharpe, was perplexing, admittedly. Those extra possessions were a factor in the Nets closing the game strong, and the Cavs have to ensure they correct that from here, as Cleveland’s initial defense was often on-point and is.

All things considered, it was a quality game for the Cavaliers, still, and Allen’s presence was felt on both ends. He had two nice blocks as well, to that point, and one could just tell Cleveland was often more in-tune on defense, with him back in there.

He did uncharacteristically finish with five fouls against his former team last night, but overall, one should be encouraged by his performance. Of course, it’ll take a bit for him to get back to his full capacity, one would think, sure.

Despite that, five-foul games shouldn’t become the norm with him in the last chunk of the regular season here, and come the playoffs. And the elite finishing and improved offensive game should be on display again soon.