Cavs' Jarrett Allen dishes on noticeable difference in Kenny Atkinson since Nets days

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Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen joined the Young Man and the Three podcast Friday to talk all things Cavs and more.  Allen’s appearance involved discourse surrounding everything from playing a team coached by the show’s lead host emeritus in Redick to The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. But the most interesting portion of the show may have been when Jarrett Allen shared perspective that only he and Caris LeVert have about his new head coach, Kenny Atkinson, who was also his old head coach.

Both players were on the Brooklyn Nets when the team made its Cinderella-style run to the NBA Playoffs. That team’s signature dance celebration was born in March 2019, which feels like much more than five years ago. But both LeVert and Allen were coached by Atkinson before reuniting with him this past offseason in Cleveland. And Allen shared on the show that things aren’t the same with the Cavs as they were with the Nets.

“He's more relaxed, I think that was his first head coaching job at Brooklyn you know and it's like it's a hard job,” Allen said. “I understand that now that after Brooklyn he went to the Clippers, then he went to Golden State and he was just getting so much more experience. Probably just his confidence and trust in his ideas to propel us forward, it's a noticeable difference.”

Kenny Atkinson is helping Jarrett Allen and the Cavaliers succeed

Allen also spoke on key traits of Atkinson’s that have not changed over the years.

“Kenny is just a good dude. Whenever we do a film session we always start with something funny,” Allen said. “Like whether it's a play that happened in the game, or whether it's making fun of one of our teammates we always start with something funny to get everybody to laugh and that just makes everything so much easier going forward. The basketball side it's just, he's a genius on that side.”

Atkinson and the Cavaliers are off to a red-hot 16-1 start. Their only loss was to the NBA’s defending champions. And Atkinson’s coaching has been a driving factor of that success. Atkinson has simultaneously prioritized winning and the development of Evan Mobley. And the additional offensive responsibility for Mobley has opened the door for players like Allen to play more specialized roles.

The center is averaging 14.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. But the statistical comparisons to last season are most interesting. Sure, Allen is only averaging 2/3 of the assists. But he’s also only averaging about 68% of the turnovers. He’s taking two fewer shots per game but making 5.1% more of his attempts. 63.4% was good. 68.5% on a still-decent 8.4 shots per game is great.

Atkinson and his Cavs are benefitting from winning taking care of everything. There’s nothing to question about a 16-1 team. Besides, of course, wondering whether or not they can sustain the success. There’s only one way to find out.

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