Jarrett Allen of the Cavaliers prevents a Lakers dunk with a highlight block

Every team has its underrated players and characters who probably deserve more credit than they get. For the Cleveland Cavaliers, that player is their starting center, Jarrett Allen, who should get a lot more recognition for both his offensive and defensive contributions.

Yes, JA is a former All-Star, but his true impact may not always be apparent since he is not a “flashy” player.

Allen demonstrated his elite defensive presence and rim protection against the Los Angeles Lakers with an incredible blocked dunk attempt by Rui Hachimura.

Check out the highlight piece here:

What made this game even better was that the shot clock went off as soon as Hachimura hit the ground, resulting in another forced turnover for the Wine and Gold.

Allen established himself as one of the NBA's best rim protectors early in his career, forcing players to think twice about driving to the basket when they were underneath it. Every now and then Allen gets tested, and this play is just another example of why that's a bad idea.

Allen may be less talked about than Cleveland's dynamic backcourt, but he's had a good start to the season along with the rest of the roster.

JA is currently averaging 17.3 points, 1.3 assists and 9.5 rebounds per game while shooting 80.6 percent from the field. However, his defense continues to give the Cavs a boost. He averages almost two blocks per game and 1.0 steals.

Allen has established himself as a key figure in the core four and he has certainly shown why in the first five games of the year.