What\u2019s easy to forget now is that the Cavs had already begun to turn the season around. They won four straight before Mobley\u2019s injury and were 28\u201320 \u2014 a solid recovery from a 15\u201314 record approaching Christmas.<\/p>\n
Allen was one of those players who had both been in and out with injury and wasn\u2019t performing up to the level the Cavs needed. Mobley\u2019s absence was going to mean more responsibility for Allen.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Atkinson) told me I was going to have to pick it up,\u201d Allen said. \u201cI was going to have to make up for the loss of rim protection and the loss of offensive ability, and I took that to heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen is averaging 21.7 points and 11.4 rebounds with 10 double-doubles \u2014 including nine of them in his last 10 games \u2014 since Jan. 28. He is shooting 72.7 percent from the field during this stretch, above even the 70.6 he shot last season when he led the league in field-goal percentage.<\/p>\n
He was, to put it mildly, absurd (in the best way) on Feb. 1 in Portland, erupting for 40 points and 17 rebounds. That was four days and two games before the Harden trade. And on Wednesday night in Milwaukee, with Harden resting after suffering a non-displaced fracture on his right thumb (an injury that\u2019s not expected to keep him out long), Allen went off for a team-high 27 points and 11 boards in a two-point loss to the Bucks.<\/p>\n
All of this undercuts one of the most consistent narratives on the Cavs right now. Harden\u2019s arrival didn\u2019t unlock Allen. He was already rolling. Harden has made what was already happening easier \u2014 and more dangerous.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always try to say I\u2019m a perfect soldier,\u201d Allen said. \u201cIf you tell me to do something, I\u2019m going to blindly go do it, whether I believe it or not. And it\u2019s just been working.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harden\u2019s impact on the Cavs, through just seven games as of Wednesday morning, is concrete and tangible. Cleveland went 6-1 in that stretch, including a dominant 109\u201394 win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Allen finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, controlling the paint on both ends. Harden added 20 points and four assists, and Mitchell scored 23 points, attacking a defense that could no longer load entirely toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re rolling right now,\u201d Allen said. \u201cThings are clicking on the offensive end. We\u2019re finding sets that work for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier in the season, the Cavs leaned heavily on quick 3-point attempts. The better defensive teams threw multiple bodies at Mitchell, forcing him to give up the ball, because Garland, the former All-Star who had been Mitchell\u2019s backcourt partner, was either injured or not playing up to his usual level.<\/p>\n
Teams haven\u2019t been able to do that with Harden and Mitchell. Then, when Atkinson staggers the two of them, and Harden is out, another trade the Cavs made, bringing in veteran point guard Dennis Schr\u00f6der, has allowed Mitchell to remain off the ball and avoid the constant swarms of double-teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a physical standpoint, from a mental standpoint, being able to know that guy\u2019s over there \u2026 that always helps,\u201d Mitchell said of Harden.<\/p>\n
Harden is 6 foot 5 and 220 pounds. Garland is listed at 6-1 and 192 pounds. Neither player is known as a stopper, but Harden\u2019s size makes it harder for opponents to hunt mismatches the way they did against Garland.<\/p>\n
There is still a while to go before the Cavs start facing and, potentially, passing those playoff tests. However, it\u2019s all working now, and, almost as an aside, Harden is averaging 18.9 points, 8.0 assists and shooting 48.8 percent from 3-point range in seven games with Cleveland.<\/p>\n
He is also having a strong impact playing with Allen.<\/p>\n
Since Harden joined the lineup, Allen\u2019s efficiency around the rim has climbed higher. Much of Cleveland\u2019s half-court offense now flows through Harden-Allen pick-and-roll actions that stress defenses in multiple directions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel I\u2019m a pretty decent pick-and-roll player,\u201d Allen said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s a Hall of Fame player who\u2019s excellent with a big in (the) pick-and-roll. When those two combine, you just get something good.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772161533_500_GettyImages-2260610586-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Donovan Mitchell and James Harden have already formed an effective backcourt duo. (Nick Cammett \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Harden\u2019s early analysis of Allen?<\/p>\n
\u201cJust his athleticism and how he gets out of pick and roll \u2014 you can\u2019t teach that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Harden\u2019s reputation for elevating centers is well established, from Clint Capela in Houston, to Ivica Zubac on the Clippers, to even former perennial All-Star Joel Embiid, whose MVP season came alongside Harden in Philadelphia. Allen appears to be the latest example of a center flourishing with Harden.<\/p>\n
Harden says his role in those situations is built on decision-making.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been a decision-maker my entire career,\u201d Harden said. \u201cThe first option is myself scoring off pick and roll, then the big, then the shooters. I can get to the paint. Then it\u2019s decision-making.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen, it seemed, was in a mood to agree with whatever narrative was suggested to him on Tuesday. Hey, Jarrett, you\u2019re playing the best basketball of your career right now. Why? His answer: \u201cObviously Harden \u2014 we know the elephant in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ummm, Jarrett, you were ballin\u2019 before Harden showed up. How come?<\/p>\n
He, as you already know, cited the Atkinson pep talk.<\/p>\n
Atkinson has his theory about the timing. Allen missed time earlier in the season with a finger injury, and Atkinson believes the recovery period helped Allen rebuild conditioning.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went ballistic conditioning-wise,\u201d Atkinson said. \u201cI felt like earlier he just didn\u2019t have the same pop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Atkinson cited Allen\u2019s offseason wedding as a deterrent to Allen arriving in camp in prime physical condition; Allen says he never starts a season in the best shape. Whatever the cause, Allen now looks closer to the player who shot 70 percent from the field last season and anchored one of the league\u2019s best defenses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019m playing smarter,\u201d Allen said. \u201cJust understanding the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harden believes Cleveland still has room to grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got a few more notches to get to,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to start defensively.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, offensively, the structure already looks difficult to guard \u2014 a system built around multiple creators and a center playing the most confident basketball of his career.<\/p>\n
Allen\u2019s surge may have begun with a quiet conversation at practice after Mobley\u2019s injury.<\/p>\n
Harden has helped turn it into something bigger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND \u2014 Music played over the loudspeakers inside Cleveland Clinic Courts. Evan Mobley had just returned from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3772],"tags":[7,306,305,193,3846,6],"class_list":["post-627388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-basketball","tag-cavaliers","tag-cleveland","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-clevelandcavaliers","tag-nba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116140385611177725","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}