Who Will Step Up For The Cavaliers In Jarrett Allen's Absence?
Just one week into training camp, the Cleveland Cavaliers are already a man down before officially tipping off the preseason. On Saturday afternoon, the team announced that Jarrett Allen would miss at least two weeks of action with a bone bruise in his left ankle.
“It was one of those things over time,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Allen’s injury. “It's not something that happened in practice and [was] triggered by something. It's just something that's kinda been building.
"We wanted to do it now because we felt this was the best time. Give him as much time as he can to rest, see how it heals, do all the things that we can help for a speedy recovery and kinda go from there.”
While the news is unfortunate, getting ahead of things before the regular season is a smart idea. Bickerstaff told reporters that he’s not concerned with Allen getting up to speed because he’s familiar with the core principles and schemes already. Conditioning will be a bigger hurdle.
But with Allen out of the picture until at least the season opener in Brooklyn (or perhaps a little longer pending on reevaluation), Bickerstaff is anxious to see how his Cavaliers frontcourt steps up to the challenge.
“It gives other people an opportunity. I think Damian Jones is kind of in that same boat, so it doesn't change a lot of things that we want to do and work on as far as his ability to play with Evan (Mobley) on the floor,” Bickerstaff said Saturday.
“Obviously having Tristan (Thompson) here also, you can still play with two big guys and still work around what you want to do. We'll miss JA and his reps are going to be valuable for him, but we don't have to make a dramatic change because we do have other big guys that can kinda fill in and play that role.”
Jones expects to play next to Mobley, who Bickerstaff hinted may see action at the 5 as well with four smalls in separate packages too.
“We've been doing a lot in practice playing with different lineups,” Jones added. “[I'm] just trying to get a feel of what to do with these lineups — learning, watching film, watching Jarrett in his actions on defense and offense in previous years. Just trying to fill the role.”
Apr 8, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz center Damian Jones (15) dunks the ball against the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter at Vivint Arena.
Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
Asked about Jones in particular, Bickerstaff offered plenty of praise.
“He's a very intelligent team defender. Typically you find him in the right spot, and he's picked up what we do quickly,” Bickerstaff said of the seven-year pro. “He's a good communicator, rim-protector. So again, [there's] similarities there — personality-wise also. But I think it's just his steadiness. And no matter what happens, he's not up and down. He's dependable both in his game and emotionally.”
“We run a lot of pick-and-roll and [it] also gives an opportunity for spacing,” Jones said regarding how Cleveland’s system caters to his skill set. “I just operate in between spaces — playing out of the pocket, playing out of the dunker [spot], high post. I feel like those are some strong suits of mine.”
Jones will get his first chance to prove his coach right against his former Atlanta Hawks team on Tuesday evening in the Cavaliers’ preseason opener.
