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Cleveland Cavaliers' Jarrett Allen will replace injured James Harden in NBA All-Star Game
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- Cleveland Cavaliers' Jarrett Allen will replace injured James Harden in NBA All-Star Game
In the midst of his career-best season, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen will get a chance to show off his skills to the world.
And as his older teammates will tell Allen , it doesn't matter how he got there or how long he had to wait for the news.
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Commissioner Adam Silver selected Allen Monday to replace the injured James Harden in Sunday night's NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
It is the first All-Star selection for Allen, 23, acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a January 2021 multi-team trade and signed to a five-year, $100 million contract in August.
The Philadelphia 76ers said earlier in the day that Harden would not participate in the All-Star Game because of a hamstring injury, returning after the break. Harden was dealt by the Nets at Thursday's trade deadline.
Allen was initially passed over when All-Star reserves were announced on Feb. 3 as the Eastern Conference coaches picked point guard Darius Garland as the Cavs ' lone representative. In what seemed like a consolation prize at the time, Allen will be one of three Cavs participating in the Skills Challenge during All-Star Saturday Night, joining Garland and rookie Evan Mobley .
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Then on Feb. 7, Silver named LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets and Dejounte Murray of the San Antonio Spurs as injury replacements for Kevin Durant and Draymond Green .
Now Garland and Allen will also play together on Team LeBron, with LeBron James serving as their captain.
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The Cavs (35-22) were third in the East before Tuesday's action after winning 22 games in 2020-21. Allen, in his fifth season, is averaging 16.2 points, 11.1 rebounds (ninth in the league), 1.8 assists — all three career highs — and 1.3 blocked shots (tied for 13th) in 49 games and shooting .665 (second) from the field. He has a team-best 30 double-doubles.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been adamant Allen was deserving since Feb. 3, and those thoughts hadn't changed ahead of Silver's decision.
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"If he's not, it will be truly disappointing," Bickerstaff said after practice. "I'm not knocking anyone else and obviously I'm biased, but I don't know of anybody who deserves it more. If you talk about valuing the things that we're supposed to value as a league and highlighting that, it's guys' impact on winning and being high-character people and teammates. Because of Jarrett and what he's done for this team, we are where we are right now in a competitive Eastern Conference.
"As a human being who showcases everything and every value that the league is about and wants from its players, Jarrett Allen is all of those things. He's not out highlighting himself. All he worries about is helping this basketball team win basketball games and contributes at a high level. So there is no other replacement in my mind."
Cavs forward Kevin Love, an injury replacement in 2010-11 when he made his first of his five All-Star Game appearances, agreed with Bickerstaff.
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"I've said it time and time again, he should have been named an All-Star reserve from the jump," Love said. "But like [ Rajon Rondo ] and I told him, that doesn't really matter how you get there.
"He's been so consistent for us. He's been a leader in that respect, brings it every single night. Posts a double-double, shoots extremely well from the floor. Between him and [Mobley], they lock down our paint every single night. So he's one of those guys I love going to battle with.
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"He's a guy that wants to get better, a guy that wants to lead. It's not easy in this league. It's such a skill to play hard every single night, and JA does that."
After he was dissed earlier this month, Allen poured in a career-high 29 points and pulled down a season-high 22 rebounds, 11 on the offensive end, as the Cavs won on the road against the Charlotte Hornets on Feb. 4. It was Allen's third 20-20 game of his career. He nearly had a double-double in the first quarter with 13 points and nine rebounds.
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Asked then how he felt about missing out on the All-Star Game, Allen said at Charlotte, "At first I was disappointed, but then you've got to look at the league. This is a machine that keeps on going. So it's like, 'Do I sulk that I didn't make the game? Or do I just keep looking forward and keep playing my basketball?'"
Love emphasized that Allen shouldn't care about being a last-minute addition.
"At the end of the day you can look back and say, 'I got named to the All-Star Game,'" Love said. "It's an amazing feeling. It just shows you have respect around the league. I think consistency within this league every single night, fighting, is huge. The award goes to consistent hard work and just going out there and getting the job done."
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Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Cavs at www.beaconjournal.com/cavs. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver adds Cavs Jarrett Allen as All-Star
