Jarrett Allen is holding the Cleveland Cavaliers together

Cleveland Cavaliers’ center Jarrett Allen doesn’t seem to accept praise well. This was evident after their loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday when he shared the postgame press conference with Darius Garland.

“He just does everything for us. He’s literally our centerpiece,” Garland said. “Wherever he goes, we all go.”

Allen could only muster a sheepish grin through Garland’s answer.

“I know I mean a lot to the team,” Allen said. “They might value me more than I know I’m worth.”

Traditional rim running centers have been on the edge of obsolescence for nearly a decade. Allen is the last of a dying breed. But what he’s doing is keeping the Cavaliers from falling apart with Donovan Mitchell out of the lineup.

Allen’s team isn’t overvaluing what he provides.

“It’s not sexy what he does,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He’s not a ball-dominant player. The guys who have the ball in their hands typically get the most attention. He does a selfless, thankless job.”

Allen has been the backbone of both the offense and defense which has allowed them to withstand the waves of injuries that keep hitting them.

“He’s a vital piece of what we do,” Bickerstaff said. “We couldn’t survive without him.”

Allen’s presence provides a high defensive floor for the Cavs. allowing them to register an impressive 111.6 defensive rating with him on the floor. His ability to protect the rim and grab defensive rebounds is a big reason why that’s the case.

Opponents are shooting just 62.5% on attempts at the rim when Allen’s on the floor which is in the 87th percentile for centers. The Cavs have also grabbed 74.9% of opponent misses with Allen (80th percentile). Both are areas traditional centers need to be elite at to remain impactful in the modern game.

“He’s the anchor defensively,” Bickerstaff said. “If he’s not doing his job, our defense doesn’t work. His responsibility is to protect everybody else on the floor. If he’s not willing to do that, it doesn’t work.”

His teammates recognize this as well.

“He’s our coach on the floor, especially defensively,” Garland said. “When he’s talking, we’re talking. When he’s loud, we’re loud. Everything is just really a reaction from J.A.”

Allen has also become more comfortable guarding in space. He’s shown that throughout the season including against stars like Luka Dončić.

However, Allen’s offensive impact is possibly more important. His ability to get to and finish at the rim creates a threat Cleveland can’t otherwise replicate. This shows up in his two-man game with the guards and is reflected in the on/off numbers.

The Cavs are converting 66.4% of their shots at the rim (56th percentile) when Allen is on the floor. Without him, that number drops to 64% (35th percentile). This is partially why there’s a bigger swing in the team’s offensive performance with him on the court compared with him off (+3.7 points per 100 possessions) than there is defensively (-0.6 points).

Wednesday’s game against the Heat is a good example of this. Allen went 9-12 on shots in the restricted area which accounted for more than half of the Cavs’ attempts at the basket.

Rim pressure is something that Allen has provided throughout his career, but his growth as a playmaker is what has impressed the Cavs.

“He’s diversified how he plays,” Bickerstaff said. “You’ve seen his playmaking ability [grow] which is something he hasn’t been known for in the past.”

“He has a great feel for the game so you know, you always see him making the right pass at the right time,” Caris LeVert said.

Allen is assisting on 12.3% (67th percentile) of his team’s made shots when he’s on the floor. This is a drastic improvement from his previous season's best of 8.6%.

Some of the improvements are due to the team running more dribble-hand-offs with Allen. However, he’s become much more comfortable picking up his dribble in traffic and kicking to the open man. His assist to Isaac Okoro for the game-sealing basket against the Indiana Pacers is a good example of this as are some of the assists he’s had that resulted in three-pointers this past week.

Allen has proven to be a good regular-season player before. Rebounding and being comfortable handling the ball off-the-dribble are areas he struggled in mightily against the New York Knicks. He’s improved both this season. We just have to wait and see if it will carry over to the postseason.

In the meantime, the Cavs will take what they can as they try to tread water with all of their injuries.

“I know he needs a break, but we’re coming down the stretch. We can’t let that slide” Garland said. “He’s certainly our heart and our soul. We really appreciate him. I do for sure. I try to tell him this all the time. But he doesn’t even know how much he means to this team, but he means a lot to us.”