Brooklyn Nets: 5 goals for Jarrett Allen’s rookie season
By Randy Porga
3. Improve fundamentals
This may seem like a checklist of just the downside of Jarrett Allen, but the Nets are surely aware that he is a long-term project. Aside from tightening up his defense in the paint and utilizing his size, there is plenty of development needed with his fundamentals.
Reiterating that he must improve defensively is absolutely imperative.
When in a crowd Allen struggles to step up for rebounds. In some cases, he sort of stands there while getting pushed around. More physical bigs take advantage of this early and Allen’s performance suffers.
He has an average basketball IQ but he doesn’t make up for his downside with natural instincts. He looks uncomfortable handling the ball at times, especially when under pressure, and goes up soft.
It is understandable this may seem like a beatdown of Jarrett Allen, but the Nets need to see vast improvements in his development on both sides of the ball. Simply being big will not be enough if Jarrett Allen cannot realize and take advantage of his best tools on the court.