Jarrett Allen played a major role in the Cavaliers’ series win over the Pistons just 3 years after an infamous case of playoff nerves. Jalen Duren needs to take Allen as an example of growing beyond an initial postseason gaffe to become a reliable playoff contributor. Duren’s own shortcomings led to two-way dominance for Cleveland’s bigs, but he still has plenty of time in his career to bounce back.
Jarrett Allen was once in Duren’s shoes
Allen and the Cavs were utterly embarrassed in the 2023 playoffs as they lost a 5-game series in the first round against the Knicks. Cleveland was the higher seed, but got thoroughly dominated. The most notable difference was in rebounding and paint presence, where Allen’s regression from the regular season played a huge role.
He averaged just 9 points and 7 rebounds per game after putting up 14 and 10 in the regular season. The prior year, he was a first-time All-Star with averages of 16 points and 11 rebounds per game. But Allen disappointed in his first playoff run with expectations and afterwards uttered the famous phrase, “The lights were brighter than expected.”
Jarrett Allen felt the pressure 😳 pic.twitter.com/oFLzy0P4j2
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 27, 2023
Since then, Allen has risen to the occasion in playoff settings by mastering the little things. He’s only averaging 13 points and 7 rebounds this postseason, but is a positive because he plays his role well. He sets good screens to get easy baskets for his guards and finishes well in the paint, whether at the rim or using little floaters.
Most importantly, Allen has also found a way to step up when it matters most. In Game 7 of the first round, he had 22 points and 19 rebounds to close out the Raptors. Against the Pistons, he had a playoff career-high 23 points.
Duren can learn the same lessons as Allen
When Duren did have good games in this year’s playoffs, he did so by leaning back on the fundamentals. He was able to lock down the paint on defense and contribute to a dominant defensive presence for Detroit. He also found his best scoring by embracing physicality and offensive rebounding.
If Duren can get back to physically dominating opposing centers in the playoffs, he should have a solid floor for his performance. Even if he’s not giving All-Star production with that skillset, he can at least be a net positive no matter what. Adding his additional skills on top of that should only help rather than take away from his base strengths.
The sky seems to be falling now for Duren, but Allen was even worse off in 2023. Duren is still only 22 years old and will have plenty of chances to make up for his shortcomings in this year’s playoffs.
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