Brooklyn Nets: 3 players with most to prove at NBA Disney
By Sameer Kumar
Jarrett Allen
Jarrett Allen will almost certainly be coming off the bench behind DeAndre Jordan moving forward, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t still be a valuable guy to this team.
Allen has all the physical tools to be an effective center in this league, and can wow people with his highlight reel of dunks and blocks. However, there is still a lot about his game that needs to be improved in order for him to take that next step to be a valuable part of a championship-contending team.
As a pick-and-roll man, Allen generates 1.34 points per possession. He and Jordan are both pretty much on even footing there, as they’re both in the 85th percentile of that metric. Allen also generates 1.32 points per possession on cuts, which puts him near the 59th percentile, but Jordan is ranked better in that metric as well.
On defense, Allen allows 0.95 points per possession when guarding the pick-and-roll man, and 0.92 points per possession on post-ups, which puts him in the 59th and 53rd percentile, respectively.
Allen is a solid defender, but those metrics alone tell me that he needs to put on some muscle in order to be able to shut down some of the better centers in this league. He must particularly improve on his defense when it comes to guys posting up on him, as Joel Embiid will give him nightmares down there, as he already showed during last season’s playoffs.
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Allen has all the makings to be a top-tier center in today’s NBA, but he’s going to need to bulk up and improve his defensive instincts to combine with his size and athleticism in order to get there.