The Cavaliers made their $100 million investment in the NBA by adding LeBron James to a roster that already had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. The team has won three championships since, but this year they fell short of another shot at glory. However, despite losing to Golden State for the second straight time, Cavs GM Koby Altman should be proud his bold move paid off just as promised.
The “lebron james injury” is a story about the Cleveland Cavaliers and their $100 million investment. The Cavs have not had one of these since LeBron James left for Miami.
The re-signing of center Jarrett Allen to a five-year, $100 million deal by the Cleveland Cavaliers was received with astonishment and contempt. Jarrett Allen, NBA player with a nine-figure salary? Preposterous! Perhaps that response was premature, given what Allen accomplished, something no Cavalier has accomplished since LeBron James.
Allen gets the Eastern Conference Player of the Week after leading Cleveland to a 4–0 week with 20.5 points and 16.3 rebounds per game. For the second time since James departed for the Lakers in 2018, the Cavaliers have won four consecutive games. Last season, Cleveland won four straight games from February 23 to March 1.
Since James, Jarrett Allen has been named Player of the Week for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Before Jarrett Allen was awarded Eastern Conference Player of the Week, the previous Cleveland Cavaliers player to get the distinction was on March 26, 2018. In 2017–18, James won the award two weeks in a row and four times overall.
Allen, a 23-year-old from Texas, is the first player to be chosen Player of the Week. Allen, who was selected 22nd overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, spent his first three seasons with the Brooklyn Nets. In January 2021, he arrived in Cleveland as part of the big James Harden deal.
Allen and Taurean Prince were traded from the Nets to the Cavaliers as part of the deal. They sent Dante Exum and the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2022 first-round selection to the Houston Rockets in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick.
Since James’ departure in 2018, the Cavaliers haven’t reached the playoffs, and the last time they were in the postseason without him was in 1997–98. That’s the mountain the young (and very huge) Cleveland team is attempting to scale.
The Cavaliers are 7–4 in the Eastern Conference, tied for fifth place. There’s still a lot of season left, but the last time Cleveland started this well without LeBron was in 2000–01, when they went 9–3. That squad concluded with 30 victories and missed the playoffs by a smidgeon (assuming 11 games is a smidgeon).
Jarrett Allen keeps things straightforward.
Since LeBron James in March 2018, Jarrett Allen became the first Cleveland Cavaliers player to be awarded Eastern Conference Player of the Week. | Getty Images/Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
Jarrett Allen, now in his sixth NBA season, performs what he’s required of him and not much more. But he’s becoming better at those things all the time. He’s third in the NBA in field-goal percentage this season, making 68.7% of his shots. In 11 games, he has 35 dunks and over 69 percent of his efforts are in the restricted area. That would break his previous career best of 177 flushes, which he established with the Nets in 2019–20.
But he’s an important element of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ early success. With 14.9 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, he’s on track to set career highs. Allen was employed as a corner 3-point shooter for a while in Brooklyn, but after shooting only 6-of-45 in 2018–19, he’s been largely deployed as a roll man.
His 6-foot-11 physique has gained some much-needed weight. Allen, who now weighs 243 pounds, isn’t pushed around as much as he used to be. During his debut playoff series in 2019, The Fro served as a simple speed bump in Joel Embiid’s way during a five-game defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers.
That was the same season he made headlines for blocking Blake Griffin’s (twice) and James’ dunks. He’s grown into a more dependable player as a result of his experience, and Cleveland is enjoying the results.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a long road ahead of them.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were dealt a blow when point guard Collin Sexton tore his meniscus. Sexton leads a balanced Cleveland assault in scoring with 16.0 points per game, down from 24.3 points per game previous season when the Cavs didn’t have as many weapons.
This season, Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff is defying convention by employing a massive front line that includes Jarrett Allen at center, 7-foot Lauri Markkanen at the 4, and 7-foot youngster Evan Mobley at the 3.
On both sides, it’s paying off. Cleveland’s offensive rating of 108.3 points per 100 possessions ranks 14th in the NBA, up from 28th previous season with a rating of 105.8 points per 100 possessions. On defense, the Cavaliers have improved from 25th to 14th in the league, allowing 114.4 points per 100 possessions.
Cleveland’s defensive discipline has seen a significant improvement. The Cavaliers concede the fewest free throws per field goal attempt in the NBA, at.125. Allen is contributing to this trend, averaging 1.8 fouls per 36 minutes, which would be a career high.
Jarrett Allen’s name may not be well-known among All-Star voters. The Cleveland Cavaliers, on the other hand, are content to let him do what he does best and aren’t asking for anything more. It’s a recipe that’s resulted in them winning on a consistent basis for the first time in their post-LeBron era. They’re also considering the playoffs, which isn’t a pipe dream.
Basketball Reference and Stathead provided the statistics.
Ricky Rubio stole the show at Madison Square Garden, but he still had time to praise the Cavaliers’ burgeoning rookie sensation.
The “lebron james rings” is a story about the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team has been able to get an immediate return on their stunning $100 million investment with something no Cav has accomplished since LeBron James.
Related Tags
- lebron james position
- lebron james net worth
- lebron james family
- lebron james’ wife