Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Collin Sexton had an outside shot of making the All-Star team. This year, All-Star weekend takes place in Cleveland. Two Cavaliers have a good chance of representing the hosting franchise as All-Stars this season. Both Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland have turned in good years so far, but their recent play has been fantastic.
Allen and Garland have been on fire
Both Cavs are in the midst of career-high seasons. Allen is averaging over 17 points and 11 rebounds while shooting an unheard of 71 percent from the floor. Garland is having himself a very impressive start as well: 19.3 points, 7.3 assists, 46.6 percent and 39 percent from three. Clearly, these averages are close to typical All-Star caliber numbers.
Garland and Allen’s recent stretch has put them in the All-Star picture even more. Garland has been amazing over his last several games by controlling the tempo of the game and scoring efficiently.
Darius Garland over the last 5 Games:
24.6 PPG
8.4 APG
4.2 RPG
1.2 SPG
55% FG
56% 3P
93% FT— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 5, 2021
Allen is of course holding his own too. Since Allen’s return from an illness that held him out a handful of games, he has been dominant. The argument could be made he has been one of the NBA’s best big men over the last two weeks.
22.6 PPG on 73% FG over his last eight games 🔥@_bigjayy_ | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/e291LCkqBM
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 7, 2021
The association has acknowledged both Cavaliers’ recent play by nominating them for the Eastern Conference Player of the Week. There is a long way to go until the All-Star cut, but both Allen and Garland are on the right path to have a chance.
The Likelihood of the Cavaliers Having an All-Star
Recently, Cleveland producing All-Star players has been nearly impossible. Players making the All-Star game while on losing teams rarely happens. The Wine and Gold’s poor record last season is what hindered Sexton’s All-Star chances the most. Plus, the Eastern Conference is only getting stronger from one season to the next. So could Allen or Garland really make an All-Star team this season?
Garland will have the tougher challenge of the two potential Cavalier All-Stars. The Eastern Conference is now littered with well-known guards such as Trae Young, Jrue Holiday, Kyle Lowry and LaMelo Ball. Focusing on point guards, Young, Ball and Fred VanVleet are the only Eastern Conference guards putting up similar numbers to Garland. Cleveland also has a better record than the Raptors, which would give Garland the advantage over VanVleet. This will be a tight race if Garland continues this level of play, but his name is not as well known as his counterparts. It feels like an outside shot for Garland to make the All-Star game.
Allen seems like the candidate that has the best chance to represent the Cavaliers as an All-Star. He has even received huge notoriety already by being named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week this season. Other noteworthy centers have dealt with injuries and absences — like Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo. In addition, Allen has simply been better than players like Myles Turner, Clint Capela and Nikola Vucevic. Adebayo will be out for at least a few weeks with a hand injury, giving Allen the inside track for an All-Star appearance.
The Cavaliers truly have two players who could fight for All-Star appearances this season. This would only add to Cleveland’s success thus far. Allen and Garland are two under-the-radar All-Star candidates to watch for in the Eastern Conference.
Featured image courtesy of Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
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