Brooklyn Nets: Jarrett Allen has come very far, very fast

Brooklyn Nets center Jarrett Allen took another big step forward in his play Saturday night against the LA Clippers and has proven to be a very quick study.

The thought in the offseason when the Brooklyn Nets signed center Ed Davis to a one-year free-agent deal was that he would provide a solid backup to young big man Jarrett Allen while also giving Allen a veteran mentor.

Allen is developing so fast, you might have to go back to Yoda and Luke Skywalker to find a more effective mentor-student tandem.

The 22nd overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft from the University of Texas, Allen is improving exponentially in his second season.

He had a huge night in Saturday’s 127-119 loss to the LA Clippers, scoring a career-high 24 points to go with 11 rebounds — five on the offensive board — and two assists.

While he was credited with just one blocked shot, Allen protected the rim well in his 28 minutes, altering several shots that he didn’t actually swat.

On the season, Allen is averaging 21.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game, hitting 59 percent of his shots overall. In two games back since missing a pair of games with an illness, Allen has 40 points and 23 boards.

Allen had by all accounts a very good rookie season, particularly for a player taken near the end of the first round, emerging as the Nets’ starting center for the final 31 games and averaging 8.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 20.0 minutes per game on 58.9 percent shooting.

Enter Ed Davis.

The well-traveled pro is in his ninth NBA season and is nothing short of a rebounding savant. In 17.4 minutes per game this season, Davis is tied for the team lead with Allen in rebounds per game at 8.3.

That is 17.1 rebounds per 36 minutes, with 6.6 of them at the offensive end.

Allen’s offensive game last season consisted of dunks and … well, dunks. Defensively, Allen blocked shots and … well, blocked shots.

Rebounding was a big problem as the youngster got pushed around a lot and didn’t quite understand how to take and hold a rebounding position. He averaged 9.7 rebounds per 36 minutes and the Nets were the worst defensive rebounding team in the NBA.

This season, Allen is getting 11.0 rebounds per 36 — a solid improvement — and his offensive game has come along by huge leaps thanks to his deft footwork and ability to stay under control when making a catch in traffic.

He was 8-for-13 on Saturday and showed an array of spins and drop steps that just weren’t there as a rookie.

Forgetting the corner 3-pointer he airballed — shooting the ball 20 feet when the rim is 22 feet away never ends well — Allen had perhaps his most well-rounded offensive game of the season.

He spun around Montrezl Harrell for a layup when it appeared Harrell was in position to draw a charge. Instead, Allen caught the ball, stopped on a dime, pivoted right and left Harrell in a vapor trail.

He converted two strong alley-oops from Spencer Dinwiddie, hit a soft jumper from the low block and did a great Moses Malone impression in tapping the ball to himself on the offensive glass until he could control it and put it in.

It seems like Allen’s skill set is increasing almost daily, which has to be terrifying for the rest of the NBA. A 20-year-old big man who already has some of the best offensive footwork around and is gaining confidence in his touch? Yeah, sign us up.

He still needs to learn to finish more assertively. Allen does have a tendency to fall away from shots in close when he should be going up strong to the rim and he still is guilty of aiming short jumpers rather than just letting them go.

That will come in time. And given the rate at which his game has grown, that is not likely to be a long time.