It became an instant meme.
After Jarrett Allen and the Cavaliers were bullied and eliminated by the Knicks in five games in the first round of the 2023 playoffs, his brutal honesty made for an unforgettable quote.
“The lights were brighter than expected,” Allen said at the time.
Ever since, those words have been used to describe players who underperform in big moments.
But now, Allen has a chance for redemption. Here he is, three seasons later – again facing the Knicks, again playing under those bright Madison Square Garden lights. This time around, it’s in the Eastern Conference finals.
“That comment was that comment,” Allen said when asked about those comments by The Post at Cavaliers shootaround Tuesday morning ahead of Game 1. “What I said is what it is. For me personally now, I’ve grown, evolved, had a lot more playoff series under my belt, a lot more games under my belt, experience. What I said then was what I said then.”
Both teams are certainly in different spots now. They were both upstarts three years ago, coming off a season (and in the Cavaliers’ case, four seasons) in which they missed the playoffs.
“Everybody’s evolved, everybody’s grown, everybody’s come into their own skin,” Allen said. “Everybody’s just a different person coming here. So it’s good to see how everybody’s grown.”
The Knicks core is now way different – Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges have been added to the mix. Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin and Isaiah Hartenstein are all long gone.
The main Cavaliers figures, though, are the same – Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Allen. They acquired James Harden midseason this year in exchange for Darius Garland in a move they envisioned to help take that core to the next level.
Dean Wade and Sam Merrill were both on the team in 2022-23. But Wade played just a total of 11 minutes in that first round against the Knicks. Merrill did not play at all. Now, they are both key bench pieces for the Cavaliers.
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“For most of the team, the core that was there, it was their first time in the playoffs,” Mitchell said Tuesday morning. “We’ve had a few series under our belts [since then]. We didn’t like how it went, obviously. This is different. We’re not here to rehash the past. This is a different scenario. This is something that, even last season, we came into it like ‘this is our goal, to get to this point, to get to the finals.’ Not really looking at it like ‘man what happened [three] years ago?’ It’s just the opportunity in front of us.”
Entering the season, this conference finals matchup was one that many could see coming. The NBA seemed to, at least.
They were scheduled against each other for the NBA’s opening night game. They were scheduled against each other for a marquee Christmas Day game. And they had the two best preseason odds to win the East.
For most of the year, though, it felt more far-fetched. The Cavaliers got out to a rough start to the season and the Knicks went through their own lulls.
“I think for us, we weren’t saying ‘it’s gonna be us vs. New York.’ We were really just focusing on ourselves,” Mitchell said. “Especially how we started the year, it was a long road. I think now, it’s more so like we gotta steal the first one. And if we don’t steal the first one, steal the second one. That’s the mentality. It’s just like ‘hey we’re here, we haven’t come this far just to be excited to be here.’ I think that’s the biggest feeling around the group – that we’re not just like ‘we did it.’ Now, it’s more so that this is an opportunity for us to play and get to the finals and we have to get through these guys to get there.”