Jarrett Allen: 'The sky's the limit' for Cavaliers on eve of training camp

Sep. 26—The Cavaliers have been waiting for this moment since they were eliminated from the play-in tournament last April, feeling that a successful regular season ultimately was left unfulfilled.

Training camp for the Cavs begins Sept. 27 at their training facility in Independence. The team held its media day on Sept. 26 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, and if one word could summarize the theme of the day, that word would be optimism.

"I feel we're capable of making the playoffs this year," center Jarrett Allen said. "We have that drive, that energy. We left a lot on the table last year.

"The potential we have — It's a young team, still, and we all of us have so much more to learn, so much more that we can and need to improve on. So, honestly, at the end of the day, the sky's the limit."

The Cavaliers won 44 games last season after winning 22 in 2020-21 when the season was reduced to 72 games instead of the normal 82 because of COVID-19. They finished eighth in the Eastern Conference but missed the playoffs because they were eliminated by the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament.

"The sky's the limit," for the #Cavaliers this season, says center Jarrett Allen. pic.twitter.com/F8WXi9Lm5E

— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) September 26, 2022

Major developments in the offseason included acquiring All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell from Utah in a blockbuster trade and signing their own All-Star guard, Darius Garland, to a contract extension that will keep him in a Cavaliers uniform through the 2027-28 season.

The Cavaliers were the surprise team of the NBA last season. They won't surprise anybody this season, Garland said.

Darius Garland: "Everybody is going to be coming after us this year." #Cavaliers pic.twitter.com/SmqNCaM39n

— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) September 26, 2022

"We have the same attitude, the same approach to the game," Garland said when it was his turn at the podium. "We added some more talent.

"We're going to be hunted a lot more. We just have to keep our head straight and attack every game like it's our last. Everybody is going to be coming after us. We're going to be getting the best from a lot of teams, so we have to be at our best at all times."

Garland, beginning his fourth season with the Cavs, was a first-time All-Star last season. He blossomed when Collin Sexton suffered a season-ending knee surgery in November in the 11th game of the season.

Garland started 68 games and averaged 35.7 minutes in 2021-22. His 21.7 points-per-game scoring average was 4.3 points higher than his previous best. His 8.6 assists per game was an increase of 2.5 over his 2020-21 total and 3.3 rebounds a game was also a career-high.

"Look at the maturation of Darius Garland," said Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman, who selected Garland with the fifth pick in the 2019 draft. "We threw Darius into the fire. He played 4 1/2 games the previous year in college. But we said 'We're going to develop him through a lot of minutes and play him the right way,' and he became an All-Star last year. It's a credit to the coaching staff."

Garland and Allen were both All-Stars last year. Mitchell makes three, and everyone associated with the Cavaliers expects Evan Mobley will be an All-Star this season. This is a successful team because, though it might sound corny, it really is like a tight family.

"It's our unselfishness," Allen said. "Everybody wants to see everybody be at their best, even if that takes away from their success a little bit. We just want to see everybody be the best they can and have a good time playing basketball, the game we love."

The preseason schedule for the Cavaliers begins eight days after camp opens. The Cavs play the 76ers in Philadelphia on Oct. 5 and then host the Sixers on Oct. 10 at the FieldHouse. They host Atlanta on Oct. 12 and end the preseason in Orlando on Oct. 14.

The regular season begins Oct. 19 in Toronto. The first home game is 7 p.m. Oct. 23 against the Washington Wizards.

PHOTOS: Cavaliers media day, Sept. 26, 2022