Brooklyn Nets: 3 takeaways from 2018-19 season opener

1. Jarrett Allen isn’t screwing around anymore

It’s official: Jarrett Allen is firmly on the NBA radar now. Last season, Allen was no more than a developing backup center. Wednesday night, he made his presence known.

Fearing the fro is far from a new craze, but it now applies to Allen too. Don’t drive on this kid; he’ll vaporize your hopes and dreams. Allen sucked the soul out of Blake Griffin at least three times, finishing with a total of four blocks.

Then there was his offensive threat. As emphasized in Allen’s scouting report out of Texas, his length and athleticism make him a target near the rim. In one summer he looks much more grown into his body, and that will matter in a spread pick-and-roll attack.

When asked to finish, he finished. When asked to protect the rim, he set up a fortress. When in the right positions, Allen made sure to put some exclamation points on this game, despite being outmatched on the boards.

To boot, he even made a few triples en route to his 17-point, 10-rebound double-double. The stroke was smooth, and the release was quick for a center. If he can learn to pick-and-pop, that’s quite the threat.

Allen certainly needs to add bulk, as we’ve known since his NBA debut, but he looks demonstrably closer to the supercharged Clint Capela type everyone hoped for.

Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert look like true steals relative to their draft positions. Now the rest of the team just has to 3-and-D around them.