Brooklyn Nets: 5 goals for Jarrett Allen’s rookie season
By Randy Porga
2. Expand range
Jarrett Allen should be looked at as an above-average scoring center coming into the league.
While we are talking about a big man, physical tools are not everything. In college, Allen posted a 56.6 field goal percentage while taking 9.6 shot attempts per game. He does not have any long range ability, which is becoming a common thread among big men that do not fare well in the modern NBA. Allen currently lives and dies at the rim.
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He has enormous hands and is a solid target for lob passes and tip-ins at the rim. Coming off the bench behind Timothy Mozgov, he will make for an excellent addition while D’Angelo Russell and Jeremy Lin set him up for some nice highlight reels.
With that being said, opponents may be a bit more aggressive when Allen makes his way to the rim. Wearing him down early and sending Allen to the line with be key for opponents, as he has difficulty hitting free throws. Last year he averaged 4.5 free throws per game and only sank 56.4 percent of them.
He has a decent at best midrange jumper, but he has a slow load-up and release. In this case, he may be most effective off space being created sliding off of pick-and-rolls.
Despite a few holes in Jarrett Allen’s game, he still has solid upside if developed properly by the Brooklyn Nets.