The Cleveland Cavaliers have a lot of problems right now.
Jarrett Allen, however, might be the lesser of it.
While he was caught slippin’ in several sequences in Game 4, he’s actually been one of the few bright spots and consistent players throughout the course of the series.
With that in mind, NBA analyst Jimmy Watkins wanted to shut down the narrative of him being a liability in the postseason:
“Entering Sunday’s game, Allen had the highest plus-minus (+14.3), of any player on either team, which is particularly hard to do when your team has lost two of three games,” Watkins wrote. “He was averaging 17 points on 70% shooting to go with about 10 rebounds per game. He was rewriting his playoff reputation. He’s a playoff asset, even if he contributed to Cleveland’s worst loss of this series on Sunday night.”
If anything, he’s not a good matchup against the Indiana Pacers, and even despite that, he’s played more than decently.
Allen was always going to be an X factor in this series.
The Pacers have two mobile big men who are more than comfortable stepping out to the perimeter or doing their damage away from the rim.
Allen is a very good defender when he’s in the restricted area, but, like many traditional bigs, he’s not that efficient when he’s taken away from the basket.
Still, blaming him for this situation isn’t only unfair, it’s also not accurate.
Coach Kenny Atkinson will have to hit the drawing board again and figure out how to counter the Pacers’ up-tempo and hustle.
They were close to beating them before that infamous and epic meltdown late in Game 2, and they dominated them in Game 3, so it’s not like they can’t beat them.
Still, it’s difficult to beat a team as confident as the Pacers are right now, especially knowing that there will be no tomorrow if they lose another game.
NEXT: Darius Garland Gets Honest About Being Down 3-1
