Cavaliers: Jarrett Allen continues to be a steady and dependable presence

Through all the trials and tribulations the Cavaliers have gone through, there has been one constant: Jarrett Allen. With players dropping all season due to injury, Allen missed the first five games with a bone bruise in his left ankle and then started the next 67. That's quite an accomplishment on this team. The 6-foot-11, 243-pounder recorded his 36th double-double of the season Monday against the Charlotte Hornets with 17 points, a game-high 13 rebounds, four assists and one steal in 33 minutes. In Cleveland's 115-92 lopsided victory, Allen also reached 6,000 career points. His 36 double-doubles are the 14th most in team history. "He's dependable," Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "I think that's one of the things in an 82-game season, for me to roll out of bed and to know that Jarrett Allen is going to be on the court, that puts me at ease. I know that everything he has in his tank, he's going to leave it out there." Allen is avearaging 16.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 blocks. He's shooting .627 from the field and .746 from the foul line. "For me, I just try to be consistent," the sixth-year pro said. "That's one thing that's not easy in this league, to come into every game and play at the same level. As cheesy as it sounds, I want to give my teammates the confidence that they know I'm going to be there. I'm going to play the same way every night, hit the open man, take my shots. I try to keep things simple." March has been a grind for the Cavs (44-28), who are hanging on to the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference by a half-game over New York. They have 17 games in the month, have faced it without their full complement of players and are in a stretch of five games in eight nights. "We all know it's a physical grind," Allen said. "Having to play night in and night out, it's going to wear on anybody. The thing that a lot of people overlook is the mental side of it. A lot of the guys were getting hit mentally hard, including myself. I think we're getting past that." One thing in Cleveland's favor now is that 7-footer Evan Mobley has joined Allen in the Cavs' frontcourt. Mobley had missed nine games with a sprained ankle. Together, they form a formidable duo. "We're elite defensively with those two guys on the court," Bickerstaff said. Mobley has been limited to 40 games this season due to knee surgery and the sprained ankle. "They haven't had that continuity that they usually have on the court," Bickerstaff said. "They are good together. It's one of those things where we're fortunate to have one of them on the court at all times. When it's winning time and you have to close the game, to have two elite rim protectors who can switch 1 through 5, (not many) teams are fortunate enough to have that like we are." Coming on strong Cavs forward Georges Niang is shooting .431 from behind the arc (41-of-95) in his last 19 games. That's not unexpected to Bickerstaff. "Georges came (into this season) a 42 percent career 3-point shooter," he said. "Learning a new system, playing with new guys and trying to figure out where your shots are coming from, it takes a little bit of time. We knew the more Georges was on the floor, the more opportunities he got and the more comfortable he got, the ball is going to go in for Georges. He's elite at his job." By the numbers The Cavs have won six of their last eight games against Charlotte, which they visit tonight. They are 25-5 against teams with a record below .500 this season and entered Tuesday with the sixth-best record against teams under .500 in the NBA. Cleveland has held teams to fewer than 100 points in 13 games, holding a 13-0 record. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.