CLEVELAND — Editor's note: the Locked On Cavs podcast in the video player above is from Oct. 25, 2021.
As Cleveland prepares to host the NBA All-Star Game in February, it's beginning to look increasingly likely that the Cavaliers will have a representative in the game. On Monday, the league announced that Cavs center Jarrett Allen has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 1-7.
In earning the honor, Allen becomes the first Cavs player to be named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week since LeBron James did so in 2018. Over the course of the week, the 6-foot-11 Allen averaged 20.5 points on 63% shooting, 16.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals as Cleveland won four straight games to advance its record to 7-4, the sixth-best mark in the Eastern Conference to this point in the season.
Now in his fifth season in the NBA, the Cavs acquired Allen last season in the same three-way trade that sent All-Star guard James Harden from the Houston Rockets to the Brooklyn Nets. While he was set to become a restricted free agent this past offseason, the 23-year-old agreed to a five-year, $100 million contract with Cleveland on the first day of free agency.
In returning to the Cavs, Allen joined the No. 3 pick of the 2021 NBA Draft, Evan Mobley, to give Cleveland one of the league's most athletic young frontcourts. After beating the New York Knicks on Sunday, the Cavs will return to action on Wednesday to host the 7-3 Washington Wizards at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.