The Cleveland Cavaliers will be well-represented throughout All-Star weekend. Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen are All-Stars. Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro will participate in the Rising Stars Game. What’s not to like for the Cavs, right?
The Cavs’ youngsters worked hard for this recognition, transforming one of the league’s cellar-dwellers from last season into an Eastern Conference contender in 2021-22. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without a last-minute decision from Adam Silver.
In an interview with Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, the NBA commissioner explained his decision to insert Allen in place of James Harden for the All-Star Game.
“But I think at the end of the day, particularly as we add All-Stars with the Commissioner’s selections, the markets become relevant. In the case of LaMelo, Charlotte was able to be represented, which they hadn’t been before he was added. I’m not going to say it’s not a factor that the All-Star Game was in Cleveland this year, but even independent of that, Jarrett Allen is having an All-Star season and there’s no doubt he deserves to be recognized.”
Cavs fans were up in arms when Allen got snubbed not once, but twice. With Harden nursing a hamstring injury, the 6-foot-11 double-double machine wasn’t going to be denied this time.
This marks the first time a pair of Cavs teammates got selected to the NBA’s midseason spectacle since 2018 when LeBron James and Kevin Love were invited to the game. Cleveland made it to the NBA Finals in the same year.
The Cavs’ 2022 finals odds are reserved for a different conversation, but what’s important right now is—borrowing Love’s description—Jarrett Allen is a “fu–ing All-Star.”