2 weeks Ago By Sam Amico, Hoops Wire
Jarrett Allen started all 82 games for the Cavaliers this season — a feat he set out to accomplish before the year began. He averaged 13.5 points and 9.
7 rebounds while shooting a blistering 70.6% from the field, and opened the playoffs with a double-double in Game 1. But in a new essay for The Players’ Tribune , Allen said his biggest reward has come off the court — from the fans.
“Everywhere I go around town, people come up to me with a big smile on their face...
It feels so good to be able to bring smiles to people’s faces here,” Allen wrote . “And this season especially, the smiles have been abundant.” The Cavs are coming off a 64-18 regular season, the second-best record in franchise history.
It’s just the third time Cleveland has won 60 games, and the first time it’s happened without LeBron James on the roster. Allen reflected on the climb it took to get there, crediting coach Kenny Atkinson’s system and the character of his teammates. “Each year, we got better and better,” Allen wrote.
“That year when I came over, we missed the playoffs. By a lot. The next season, though, we just barely missed the play-in.
Then we make it in but lose in the first round. The next year, we make the conference semifinals. And now, best record in the conference.
” “Our system, Kenny’s blueprint for winning, it’s all about selflessness. Just look at the box score every night. This team, there are no selfish individuals.
” Allen also gave a nod to Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell and offered high praise for Evan Mobley , calling his ascension to elite status “the big difference-maker” this season. “And if you’re asking what’s pushed us to that next level? Evan Mobley,” Allen wrote. “I mean, we’ve got Donovan and DG — those guys are unreal.
And I like to think I’ve done my part. But Evan’s leap this season? That’s been the difference-maker. “We’ve seen flashes before, but now it’s real.
And whatever I can do to help him grow –guard the biggest guy, take the hits, whatever — I’m doing it. Because the sky’s the limit for him. And if he keeps rising? Who knows how far we can go.
” Mostly, it’s clear Allen has grown to love the city he represents. “Cleveland is one of those towns that..
. you don’t know how good it is until you’ve actually lived there,” he wrote. “The more time you spend here, the more that feeling seeps into you.
Before you know it, you start to love this place, too.” Allen finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the Cavs’ 121-100 Game 1 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday. Game 2 is set for Wednesday night in Cleveland, where the fans — and the smiles — will be waiting.
Related | Read full story on The Players’ Tribune right here This article first appeared on Hoops Wire and was syndicated with permission..
