In the eyes of ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen is the second-best player on the team.
Windhorst dropped the take during a conversation about the fit of Cleveland’s frontcourt. He theorized that the Cavs could ultimately get to a point where power forward Evan Mobley is able to close games at the center spot, but he recognized that such a scenario would potentially force Allen off the court.
That led to a conversation among Windhorst and his co-hosts about how the challenge for the Cavs is that they seemingly can’t always have their best players on the court to close games since there are fit concerns with Mobley and Allen.
“Jarrett Allen was their second-best player last year,” Windhorst said. “I still think he’s their second-best player.”
The hope for the Cavs has to be that Mobley will develop a consistent 3-point shot. He seems further along than Allen when it comes to adding a 3-pointer to his arsenal, something that one of them will likely need to do in order to alleviate the fit concerns between them.
Allen rarely attempts 3s. Mobley, however, shot a career-high 37.3 percent from deep last season on 1.2 attempts per game. If he can maintain that sort of 3-point percentage while attempting a higher volume of shots from beyond the arc, it would be a huge development for Cleveland.
Windhorst isn’t the only one who believes that Allen is the second-best player on the Cavs. Recently, NBA legend Charles Barkley made the same claim, though he added that he’s regularly disappointed by Allen because he wishes the big man would do even more.
Last season, Allen averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 63.4 percent from the field. It marked the highest scoring season of his career so far, and his numbers were similar to those of his 2021-22 season, when he earned an All-Star nod.
Mobley, for his part, averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 blocks per game last season while shooting 58.0 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from deep, as mentioned.
The Cavs won a playoff series last season but may need something to click internally in order for the team to take the next step in its chase for an NBA title. With any luck, that will happen this coming season.
