Who The Cavs Must Start Prioritizing Offensively
Although isolation offense was the main course of action for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night's loss in Boston, and it was the best thing that worked, the wine-and-gold began looking to the middle for mismatches in the second half.
It was just too little too late.
Jarrett Allen attempted seven shots during the wine-and-gold's second meeting with the Boston Celtics; six of those tries came in the second half. He knocked down a mid-ranger and got a hook shot to go in the fourth quarter, which helped spur the energy a bit. But it wasn't nearly enough touch-wise overall.
"We've got to make sure we get him the ball. That's the priority," Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff replied when asked about getting Allen going. "Big guys struggle because someone has to feed 'em.
"When you're playing against a team that does this much switching, we just have to get better at throwing him he ball when they've got smalls on him. Then, he's got to do the job of finishing once he catches it. But we've got to give him the opportunities."
On the season, Allen is averaging 7.7 attempts per game, which is the lowest amount he's averaged since coming to the Cavs via trade in the 2020-21 campaign. It's not surprising that he's putting up a career-high 11.7 assist percentage as a trade-off either.
"Just try to get guys open," Allen replied when asked about his offensive impact. "That's always my thing. Try to get guys easy shots. And even if I post on offense, if that's able to create for somebody else, then that's good too."
Dec 12, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) reacts after being called for a foul against Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) in the second half at TD Garden.
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
It's in the team's best interest to get the big men involved on a nightly basis, particularly when the mismatches come.
Of course, Cleveland is missing one in Evan Mobley right now too, so that's hurting Allen (and essentially everybody) at the moment during this skid.
