Late in the NBA season at the end of a five-game West Coast trip, Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen had free time in Portland.
He did what he often does on the road: he sought a bookstore. This time, he stopped at Powell’s Books, the famous and massive city of books.
He first went to the rare books collection and then visited the sci-fi section.
“I have always wanted to visit the rare books room,” Allen told USA TODAY Sports. “That stuff was so intriguing to me when I went in there – books from the 1400s.”
Maybe it’s the Tattered Cover in Denver. Or right before the 81st game of the regular season while in New York, he visited The Strand, known for its “18 miles of books.”
He left with Martha Wells’ ‘All Systems Red.’ He’s also reading “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue,” by V.E. Schwab.
Allen said he is strictly a purveyor of physical books, no e-reading device.
“I want to have a big (library) collection when I get older. I keep all the books that I read, so I want to be able to look back and be like, ‘Oh, I remember when I read that back in 2017.’ That’s the fun in it for me.”
Jarrett Allen, defender of rims, support of bookstores and reader of books.
“I love basketball, but I think there’s only so much I can do in one day in any type of thing that I do,” Allen said. “My whole thing is if I’m able to step away from basketball and reset my brain, I can come back even stronger and give more of myself to basketball.”
It works for the 27-year-old Allen who is in his eighth NBA season.
A vital member of Cleveland’s Core Four along with Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, Allen averaged 13.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and nearly one steal and nearly one block and shot a career-high league-best 70.6% from the field this season. He also was instrumental in making Cleveland the No. 8 defense and No. 1 offense during the regular season.
He is one of seven players to register 70 steals and 70 blocks and recorded 40 double-doubles and contested 766 shots, which was third-best this season. Mobile at 6-9, Allen provides defensive versatility, guarding on the perimeter or in the paint.
In Cleveland’s Game 1 victory against Miami in their first-round Eastern Conference series, Allen had 12 points, 11 rebounds (six offensive), three steals and one block.
“The rap on Jarrett coming out of college was that he didn’t love basketball, and that scared some people away,” first-year Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters earlier this season. “That couldn’t be farther from the truth. He’s just got a lot of other interests. He’s an intellectual guy, a smart guy, reads a ton, plays all the video games. But you shouldn’t underestimate his toughness and grit. That’s growing. … Now that his physical strength has caught up to his agility and athleticism, you’re starting to see him in his prime.”
Allen played for Atkinson in Brooklyn and had an idea of what to expect including the prospect of playing fewer minutes per game during the regular season and utilizing depth.
Allen’s minutes decreased this season, but the Cavs won 64 games, the most a non-LeBron James Cavs squad has won in franchise history. They earned the No. 1 seed, three players made the All-Star team (Mobley, Garland, Mitchell) and multiple players are up for season-ending honors, including Ty Jerome for Sixth Man of the Year and Atkinson for Coach of the Year. Mobley, Garland and Mitchell are All-NBA possibilities.
“We all want to be a superstar, and I understand with my role, it’s not the most glorious,” Allen sad. “But I know I get the satisfaction from my team and my players and honestly everybody around the league that understands how my position helps the team win. Basically my job is to try to make things as easy as possible for guys like Darius, Donovan and Evan to be able to show their talents and their skills on the court.”
Allen gets his opportunities offensively and makes the most of them. He averaged just 7.8 shot attempts but made 5.5 in 2024-25. Allen, who played in all 82 games, was one of seven players to attempt fewer than eight shots per game with fewer than one 3-point attempt per game and still average double-figures in points.
Atkinson likes to create spacing with shooters on the perimeter which opens up driving lanes to the basket. But Allen is not a 3-point shooter. So, during the summer, he spent time with Texas Pro Academy, a basketball training and development center in Austin, Texas. Allen worked on positioning and where he can be most effective offensively.
Setting screens for Garland and Mitchell and cutting to the rim where he can catch passes for easy shots was part of the answer. He was 411-for-557 on shots at or near the rim, according to NBA shot chart data. Allen made 159 dunks, and Garland assisted on 30% of Allen’s made shots.
“I’ve been playing with these guys for about three years now, so we know each other’s tendencies very well,” Allen said. “I know how to set the right screen for Darius, I know how to set a different screen for Donovan. The longer you play with players like that, the easier things come naturally.”
Game 2 against Miami is Wednesday in Cleveland.
‘Just dial into all the things that made us great in the regular season,” Allen said. “It’s easier said than done. But we know that there was a time during the regular season when we played, we were unbeatable. We won 10 games in a row three times this season (including 15-0 to start the season). Just trying to find that success and replicating it early in the playoffs so we can get on a roll like that and have it carry us however far we’re going to go.’
Follow Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt