The Cavs keep seeing the same defensive look, and it keeps forcing the same question: what happens when teams blitz Donovan Mitchell and James Harden before Cleveland can get comfortable?
That pressure has become a fixture. Opponents have been loading up early and often, and Cleveland’s own internal numbers show Mitchell is getting blitzed at a higher rate than he ever has in his career.
That isn’t going away. The real issue is how the Cavs answer it.
Against the Knicks, one answer showed up in a place that matters most - late in the game. Jarrett Allen became the release valve, and more importantly, he became the aggressor.
Chris Fedor, who covers the team daily for cleveland.com, highlighted the adjustment this way: “Jarrett Allen was the one who got to play 4-on-3, not necessarily Evan Mobley. So that’s another adjustment. Jarrett’s got that in his game, and I think he’s better at that than Evan at this stage of his career.”
That’s the heart of it. When the blitz forces a rotation and the ball finds a big man with space, the possession can’t stall.
Allen didn’t stall. He went right at the defense.
“He was forceful attacking the rim,” Fedor said. “He didn’t give the defense any time to rotate over.
He made a quick decision. He was decisive.
He was looking to score instead of only looking to pass.”
There was a sequence late in the game that made the point even clearer. Allen was used again as a short roller with Donovan Mitchell, and instead of just hunting for the next pass, he read the opening and attacked.
“I found it hilarious the first time in, I think it was the fourth quarter when Jarrett Allen was getting utilized as this short roller in the sequence with Donovan Mitchell that he immediately was looking for the pass and then noticed, ‘I have so much more space.’ Obviously, he made the pass that time because he kind of was caught off guard.
But the next time it didn’t matter that OG Anunoby was two steps in front of him. He knew he could put one pound dribble on the floor and elevate,” podcast host Ethan Sands recounted.
Peyton Watson was part of the same conversation, too. He and Kenny Atkinson had recently been discussing how to use Watson when the blitz comes, and against New York he showed up in two different roles - as a screen setter and as a playmaker in four-on-three situations. That gives Cleveland another wrinkle, and a different one than defenses are used to seeing.
The bigger lineup debate still hangs over all of it. Since Atkinson arrived, the question has lingered: how often should the Cavs play two bigs together, and should Allen be closing more often? After the game, Atkinson said he was weighing whether to finish with Allen.
Fedor wants the conversation pushed further.
“I would just love to see what would happen if it was Evan on the bench in a late game situation. Why does it always have to be Jarrett, Jarrett or somebody else as the debate, can’t it be Evan or somebody else?”
There’s also a broader fix available if Cleveland wants to keep defenses from setting the table for these traps. Three-guard looks with Harden, Thomas and Proctor can get the offense moving before Mitchell has to take the first touch. Off-ball movement, earlier actions farther from the basket and better spacing can all make it harder for defenses to get into position.
But the Knicks game showed the Cavs don’t have to search outside the roster for answers. They already have them. The challenge is using them with enough trust and consistency to make the blitz less of a problem - not just when the opponent is the reigning Eastern Conference champion on national television.
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Tyrese Proctor also gave the Cavs a useful lift with 15 points, another encouraging sign for a team still sorting out its rotation and looking for reliable secondary scoring. For Cleveland, the bigger question now is whether this was just a strong one-off against the Knicks or the start of a more consistent offensive spark that can carry into the next stretch of games. [Read more 🡒]
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James Harden has been part of that conversation, and so has Peyton Watson, whose play has slipped from what he gave last season. When the production from important additions and veterans falls off at the same time, the pressure inevitably rolls uphill, and Atkinsons margin for error may not stay wide for long if Cleveland cannot find some traction soon. [Read more 🡒]