Jarrett Allen, one of the honorable hosts of the NBA’s
annual block party last season, is going into his third year in the league and
is likely to make it a good one.
Allen made quite a name for himself in his sophomore year
all season, and it wasn’t for his 1970s afro. In addition to nearly averaging a
double-double with 10.9 PPG and 8.4 RPG, Allen finished 11th in the
league with 120 total blocks, and 12th in the league averaging 1.5
BPG.
What’s even more impressive about his blocking ability
wasn’t just his consistency when doing it. It was who he was blocking, the best
of the best. Obviously 120 blocks is a lot, but the most notable of those
victims are LeBron James, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis
and Blake Griffin. All learned the hard way when going against the second year
phenom.
Reactions were different across the board, but the King
himself wasn’t too bothered by it.
“He’s in his twenties, I’m in my thirties. It takes me a
little longer to get warmed up, but that’s fine,” said James. “It happens. It’s
probably all over social media, so that’s cool.”
His block on the King was arguably the most notable because
in James’ 16 year career (at that point) he had attempted 1,800 dunks, and only
been denied eight times prior to this.
Alright enough about blocking.
Despite having such a good year, the 22nd overall
pick will most likely come off of the bench as a result of the newest big man
to sign with Brooklyn, DeAndre Jordan.
However, don’t be surprised if the Nets have their own
version of the “twin towers” lineup of both Allen and Jordan on the court at
the same time. This could be intimidating for anybody who considers themselves
a “slasher” since Jordan himself averaged 11 PPG, 13.1 RPG and 1.1 BPG last
season.
Not to mention, another big man that will be looking for
minutes this year is rookie Nicolas Claxton, who the Nets chose in the second
round of this year’s NBA draft out of the University of Georgia.
This may seem like a lot for Head Coach Kenny Atkinson to
sort out this year, but it’s certainly a good problem to have with his revamped
roster that will likely be a top 15 team on both sides of the ball.