Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen is expected to make his return to the starting lineup, per head coach Kenny Atkinson in his pre-game press conference.
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It’ll be the first time Allen has appeared in a game since early in the month, when he left their March 3rd game against the Detroit Pistons with what was initially described as a “knocked knee”. Turns out it was a little more serious than that.
The team expects Allen to play with a minutes restriction “in the mid-20s”, per Atkinson. The Cavs have missed Allen on both ends of the floor, with his paint protection and ability to finish efficiently at the rim on offense. His absence has made the Cavs more of a three-point shooting team, which does not play as well in the head coach’s mind.
“His rim presence offensively, I think sometimes without him, we become too perimeter oriented,” Atkinson said prior to the team’s game against the Miami Heat. “I hope we get some reps with this little runway to run with that big lineup, because that’s our best lineup, and we haven’t seen a lot of the combinations that can go around that,” Atkinson continued. “So at least we’ll get some games under our belt before the playoffs start.”
The Cavs have been tinkering with different lineups all season, but with now single-digit regular season games remaining, it’ll be important to get some consistency going. That goes for the defensive side of the ball as well.
“Opposing teams’ rim attempts go down when he’s in the game, he’s like a seven-foot goalie — he just deters, guys don’t want to challenge him,” Atkinson said when asked about Allen’s impact on what he himself has described as a subpar defense of late.
“It starts at the rim with him on both ends, I keep saying it, he’s been the best rim protector in the league post All-Star.”
The Cavs had another poor showing on the defensive end in their last game out, also against the Heat. Allen’s return, even if for 23 minutes, will have an impact on both ends of the floor. And with the playoffs approaching, the team needs the continuity in the rotation for the final stretch of the regular season.