Jarrett Allen shares why he and James Harden have worked so well together on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers targeted James Harden at the trade deadline for a variety of reasons. He has playoff experience, is a phenomenal playmaker, and is still one of the NBA’s best scorers.
Another motivation for Cleveland to trade for Harden is that he has a history of elevating the play of the big men he plays with. The Cavaliers would hope he’d do just that for both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, and that’s exactly what’s transpired.
The relationship that Allen and Harden have developed on the floor in such a short time has been incredibly encouraging about the overall ceiling they could reach once they get there.
During Cleveland’s season finale, Allen was mic’d up with the broadcast crew and explained how and why Harden has fit so well with the Cavs and played alongside each other on the floor.
“When you have a pick and roll player, that’s, honestly, one of the best players to ever play in this game in the pick and roll, he just opens up the floor for me,” explained Allen.
“He knows when to find me in the pick and roll. And even when we do things a little bit differently, he's so good at adapting. His game is still refined, and he's able to adopt anything… He knows how to run the pick and roll. He knows where to find everybody. He knows how he creates space for himself. It just opens up the floor for everybody else, including myself.”
Jan 30, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) against the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesThe stats with Allen and Harden on the floor together back up everything the Cleveland center is explaining.
The duo has shared the floor for 316 minutes (26.6 minutes per game) together since the trade deadline.
In that span, they have an offensive rating of 121.6 and a defensive rating of 112.0. That comes out to 66.8 points per game for the company, while shooting 50.3 percent from the floor.
The pair has missed a beat since Allen returned from his knee injury at the end of March, which is an encouraging sign with the postseason on the horizon.
As Cleveland prepares for the playoffs, Kenny Atkinson will continue to rely on this duo to continue playing at an elite level alongside one another, as they’ve already shown they can do.
Cavs Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Cavs. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.