CLEVELAND — Jarrett Allen becoming reinvigorated is among the most impressive developments during the infancy of the Cavaliers’ James Harden era.
For the Cavs to reach their goals, though, they will need both of their starting big men to be at their best.
Allen should share some of his Wheaties with Evan Mobley.
The Cavs’ 109-94 win over the familiar Eastern Conference nemesis New York Knicks on Feb. 24 at Rocket Arena provided the most recent example of Allen’s stock soaring amid Mobley’s rust-filled comeback from injury.
Context is important. Mobley has been playing on a minutes restriction while working back from his second left calf strain of the season. He missed seven consecutive games with the most recent injury and has played three since returning to action. He had one night off for injury management last week, when the Cavs prevailed 118-113 at the Charlotte Hornets.
It’s been a rocky stretch during an odd season for Mobley, a first-time All-Star choice, a second-team All-NBA selection and the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2024-25.
In the early stages of 2025-26, the Cavs wanted Mobley to expand his offensive arsenal. Coach Kenny Atkinson had Mobley playing point forward and creating for himself from the wing. The experiment never took off, and Mobley didn’t make the leap the Cavs had hoped he would.
Then the dreaded calf injuries struck on Dec. 12 against the Washington Wizards and Jan. 26 against the Orlando Magic.
Healthy or not, Mobley and Allen have had trouble with consistently maintaining the requisite physicality, intensity, toughness and aggression, especially against bruising counterparts in high-stakes games. The Knicks have a certified rebounding machine named Mitchell Robinson and a perennial All-Star center, Karl-Anthony Towns.
In the latest showdown, the Cavs downsized at times, with forward Dean Wade’s versatility paying off, and effectively used speed to their advantage. They tied the Knicks 44-44 in rebounding, earned a 16-15 edge in second-chance points and won the turnover battle 17-11.
The Cavs (37-22) and Knicks (37-22) ended the night sharing third place in the Eastern Conference, though New York holds the tiebreaker over Cleveland.
Video of Jarrett Allen after Cavs’ win over New York Knicks
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen produced his fourth consecutive double-double and reflected on his performance vs. the Knicks. Here’s video.
As the Cavs bounced back from a 121-113 defeat at the reigning champion (but shorthanded) Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 22 and avenged two previous losses this season against the Knicks, Allen scored 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds in 29 minutes. Allen has had a double-double in four consecutive games and eight of his last nine.
Mobley contributed 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and seven rebounds in 24 minutes.
Robinson finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench, and Towns had 14 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes.
Afterward, guards Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, who led the Cavs with 23 and 20 points, respectively, said Cleveland has yet to scratch the surface of what it can become as a team. The Cavs have barely practiced with Harden, but they have also gone 6-1 with him.
“We’re good,” Harden said. “But we’ve got a few more notches to get to, and with only [23] games left [in the regular season], I think we can get there. Matter of fact, I know we can get there.”
Neither Mitchell nor Harden said unlocking Mobley alongside Allen on this revamped team is a crucial factor, but it is indeed the case.
“He’s still finding his way, and if finding your way is 12 [points] and seven [rebounds], that’s not bad,” Mitchell said of Mobley. “But for him, it’s not just going to click right away. It’s gotta kind of come back. [And] we have a new team [since] he first got hurt, too.”
The truth about Allen is he started rolling at the end of January before the Cavs’ flurry of moves brought Harden, point guard Dennis Schroder and guard Keon Ellis to Cleveland ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline. The beginning of Allen’s hot streak coincided with Mobley being sidelined with his second calf strain and Atkinson challenging Allen to step up.
“[Atkinson] came up to me and said, ‘You’re going to have to pick it up. You’re going to have to make up for the loss of rim protection, the loss of offensive ability,’” Allen said. “And I took it to heart. I went out there and honestly just started having fun and not really caring about the mistakes that I was going to make and just playing freely.
“I always try to say I’m the perfect soldier. You tell me to do something, I’m gonna blindly go do it, whether I believe it or not. And it’s just been working.”
Allen considers this recent stretch probably the best basketball of his career and credited Harden with “elevating” his game. They are a natural and formidable pick-and-roll duo. Last week, Harden said Allen is “better than I thought he was.”
Allen also conceded a sprained finger on his right hand and a fractured finger on his left hand interfered with his production earlier this season.
“I pride myself on the touch around the rim [and] last year shot 70%, [so I’m] getting back to who I was last year, being able to finish around the rim,” Allen said. “But at the beginning of [this season], it was tough. I’m starting to transition back to who I was.”
A snap of the fingers, broken or otherwise, won’t make it happen, but the Cavs need Mobley to undergo a similar transformation to reach their ceiling. Like it was earlier this season with Allen, health is part of the equation.
“He’s just got to catch his rhythm,” Atkinson said of Mobley. “He’s showing flashes, but it takes you a while to get back to your kind of normal level. But, listen, he’s a big reason why we hold [the Knicks to 94 points]. He’s so good defensively, so we’ll take that. We’ve gotta get him in the flow of the offense a little more.”
Questions about the small-guard tandem of Mitchell and Darius Garland hovered over the Cavs until the franchise swapped Garland for Harden and thereby broke up the “core four.”
Now questions about the combination of Allen at center and Mobley at power forward remain.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at [email protected]. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
