Cleveland Cavaliers starting center: Jarrett Allen
The Cavs may ultimately have to move on from Jarrett Allen out of necessity, but it’s not like the twin towers lineup has been some sort of failed experiment. Cleveland was the fifth-best team in the NBA last season with the league’s top defensive rating. The Cavs also held the top defensive rating in the postseason, for that matter (if only the Knicks weren’t second-best).
Those are flawed catch-all metrics, but Cleveland won a metric ton of games and was thoroughly dominant in the regular season. It’s ultimately a question of whether or not Allen and Mobley can coexist at the highest level of the postseason, but there’s no questioning the regular season viability. Allen is one of the league’s best defensive anchors and Cleveland’s move to poach him from Brooklyn as part of the Kevin Durant trade remains one of the best front office maneuvers in recent memory.
Allen made the All-Star game in his first season with Cleveland. His numbers dipped slightly in year two — largely a factor of Mobley’s sophomore season growth — but Allen remains a towering presence at the rim. He’s mobile enough to guard in space and there simply aren’t many 7-footers who can match Allen in a vertical leaping contest. He makes guards think twice about venturing down the lane.
On the offensive end, Allen is almost entirely paint-bound. He runs the floor hard in transition and he’s a perfect pick-and-roll partner for Garland and Mitchell, giving them a premier lob threat at the rim, but he does compress the floor. Again, when push comes to shove, Cleveland is going to have trouble keeping the paint open for Garland and Mitchell in big games. The onus is more on Mobley to improve his 3-point shot before the Cavs abandon ship with Allen.
Primary backup center: Damian Jones
Damian Jones split last season between the Lakers and the Jazz. He serves in a similar capacity to Allen on the offensive end. He’s a long, bouncy center who loves to go vertical and finish above the rim. On the defensive end he’s far removed from Allen’s prowess as a rim protector, but he can still swat shots with his 7-foot-4 wingspan.
The most interesting development for Jones last season was his sudden willingness and ability to shoot 3s after his move to Utah at the trade deadline. He shot 71.4 percent on 14 total attempts in 19 games. That’s an exceedingly small sample size, but it’s enough to establish a basis for hope. If Jones can become a legitimate stretch five that could reinvigorate his career.