CLEVELAND, Ohio — After months of watching the Cavs’ All-Star center glued to the bench during crunch time, Kenny Atkinson was forced to make a change that proved to be the deciding factor during Wednesday’s victory over the Miami Heat.
On recent episodes of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, the hosts debated whether Atkinson had been too reactive instead of imposing his own system on opponents. In the Cavs’ second attempt against the Heat in three days, Jarrett Allen gave that conversation a definitive answer.
Allen’s numbers told the story.
“Look what happens when Jarrett Allen plays in the fourth quarter. That’s all I’m going to say. Seven and a half minutes in the fourth quarter, made every shot that he took, every free throw that he took. 12 points in the fourth quarter, plus-10 in the fourth quarter,” exclaimed _cleveland.com_ Cavs beat reporter Chris Fedor on the _Wine and Gold Talk_ podcast after the game.
The performance stood out not just for Allen’s dominance, but for what it revealed about Atkinson’s evolution as a coach. Early in the season, he often downsized late in games, mirroring the opposition. In his second chance against a Miami team that dominated the paint in their previous matchup, he flipped the approach.
“Tonight, Kenny did something different. He got proactive. He made the Heat react to him. He said, hey, look, all right, Miami, you want to downsize, you want to play small, we’re going to play bigger. We’re going to use Jarrett to our advantage,” Fedor said.
That shift paid off.
Instead of abandoning Cleveland’s size — the team’s biggest strength — Atkinson leaned into it. The result was a dominant fourth quarter that forced the Heat to adjust for a change.
It also marked a turning point for Allen’s role. As podcast host Ethan Sands pointed out, Allen “was not a significant feature in the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat on Monday and hasn’t been a fixture in the fourth quarter since last year.”
What made this moment feel transformative was what it suggested about the Cavs’ identity in close games. Rather than chasing smaller lineups and losing their edge, they can now embrace what makes them unique.
Allen’s 30-point, 10-rebound performance proved that keeping him on the floor forces opponents to deal with Cleveland’s size and strength instead of neutralizing it.
For a team with championship goals, discovering a consistent closing identity is essential. Wednesday’s game might have revealed the simplest answer of all: when it matters most, trust the 6-foot-9 All-Star.
Want more breakdown on Allen’s fourth-quarter dominance and what it means for the Cavs moving forward? Catch the full Wine and Gold Talk episode with Ethan Sands and Chris Fedor for their in-depth analysis of this statement win.
Here’s the podcast for this week:
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