All season long, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been dealing with injuries to nearly every key player at some point. The latest blow came right before the holidays, with the team announcing that Darius Garland (jaw) and Evan Mobley (knee) would be sidelined until a few weeks into 2024.  But, instead of letting the latest batch of adversity hold them back, the Cavs persisted and are 6-3 in the wake of the extended absence of Garland and Mobley.

To be fair to Cleveland, their players, and coaching staff, that shouldn't be all that surprising. Even without Garland and Mobley, the Cavs still have Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, and others who have all stepped in and stepped up in more fleshed-out roles. It's just another walk in the park for Mitchell, considering how often the Cavs rely on his relentless offensive motor to guide them to victory.

Over the last nine games, Mitchell has averaged 27.8 points, 6.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 5.8 rebounds in 36.9 minutes per game. But for Allen, meanwhile, some have been surprised by his performance for Cleveland as of late. Well, that is if you're not a member of the Cavs, of course.

“It's messed up, isn't it? But, I think it's because he's not loud,” said Donovan Mitchell to ClutchPoints. “He doesn't talk as much as people like, and that's the one thing in this world: if you're not in our face, we don't really speak about it. And obviously, the playoff series didn't go the way we all anticipated, himself included, and he's the first to tell you that. But for him to respond this way and play like this way, this is no surprise to us.

“I don't think one playoff series dictates who he is a player and who is a person. We love JA, I love JA, and he's a guy that I think is definitely under the radar. Unfortunately, it's just how the way the world is like he's not really on social media and not on Twitter and he's not sitting here goofing around,” Mitchell continued. “He does his job. He works hard. And then he goes home and does his own thing, playing computer games and building models.

“And that's just JA. But, he's been dominant and it's something he's always been since he was with Brooklyn. He's always been this way but we live in a world where if you're not in everyone's face, you don't get noticed. People don't necessarily think about you, whether that's right or wrong,” Mitchell concluded. “But, he doesn't care. We don't care either because we know he's going to go out and keep dominating on a daily basis.”

Allen steps up 

Following their comeback win over the Mavericks, Jarrett Allen let it be known that he's still confident in the Cavs chances to compete.

In this nine-game stretch, Allen has averaged 19.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 32.7 minutes per game. By comparison, Allen typically averages only 14.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in only 30.0 minutes per game. So, despite only a slight variance in minutes, Allen is clearly stepping up, showing out, and reminding everyone there's a reason why he was an All-Star two seasons ago.

Allen has been the anchor for Cleveland on the offensive side of the ball and has helped guide the Cavs to a top-five offense despite the news about Garland and Mobley. When Garland and Mobley return to the court, Allen's flashy numbers will likely regress closer to their seasonal averages and still fly under the radar. But, when things are tight, Cleveland can know that they can lean on their All-Star big man and help guide the Cavs on offense whenever they need him to.