Cavaliers' Jarrett Allen sidelined indefinitely with fractured finger, per report

The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled out a 104-96 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday evening, but they suffered a large loss in the process. Cavs All-Star center Jarrett Allen suffered a fractured finger during the game, and he will be sidelined indefinitely as a result, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Allen played just 10 minutes, scored six points and grabbed two rebounds against Toronto.

At this point, it's not known how severe Allen's injury is, or how long he will be forced to remain on the sideline. The injury obviously comes at a tough time for the Cavaliers, who are in the midst of a tight battle for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference. Following their win over Toronto, the Cavs sit sixth with a 37-27 record on the season. If they can stay in their current spot, they won't have to participate in the play-in tournament. However, if they drop to seventh, then they will. They currently hold a three-game lead over the Raptors for that sixth spot.

Allen is having the best season of his career. In 55 games, he's averaging 16.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per performance. He provides the Cavs with solid rim protection on defense, and a reliable finisher on the other end. In his absence, the Cavs will likely turn to rookie Evan Mobley and veteran Kevin Love to hold down the center spot for the majority of the time. Ed Davis could potentially see some more minutes as well.

The playoffs start in just over a month, so ultimately the Cavs just have to hope that Allen will be healthy and back before they begin -- and that they don't drop too far down in the standings in the meantime.

Comments

Bill Russell Once Explained Why He Didn't Bother With Celtics Fans: "When I Was A Star, The Fans Called Us The 'Boston Globetrotters' Because The Celtics Had Black Players."

While the NBA is a beacon for freedom and tolerance in America, things didn't start off that way. In a place like Boston, during the 50s and 60s, racial tension was a pretty serious problem, and superstar big man Bill Russell had to deal with it on a game-to-game basis. Today, it can be hard for us to imagine just how difficult being a black basketball player really was back then. Fortunately, we have some clips: "The number one paper was the Boston Herald and they didn't like the idea of an NBA team having black players. Out there, the star was Bob Cousy. No matter what I did, Cousy was the star. I remember I had a game where I had 25 points, 25 rebounds, 10 blocks, and the Boston Herald said I was lucky to play with Cousy." Unfortunately, the media didn't give Russell his respect back then. Despite being the best player on the court, and on his team, Cousy and others always got the spotlight. Even the fans weren't very accepting of Bill: "I didn't...

From Deep: At long last, Nikola Jokic's Nuggets can envision getting to the top of the mountain

Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12, 2021. Leading up to that night, he'd been playing at an All-NBA level for two months: In a 25-game stretch, Murray averaged 24.1 points on .509/.459/.935 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He was even more efficient than he was in the bubble playoffs, and his defense had improved, too. Murray only got to play with Aaron Gordon, the Denver Nuggets' big trade-deadline addition, for five games. They won them all except the one in which Murray got injured. In 110 minutes, their new starting five scored slightly more efficiently than any iteration of the Kevin Durant-era death lineup in Golden State and defended like a top-five team. Two Nikola Jokic MVP awards later, Murray is back. So is Michael Porter Jr., who signed a five-year extension about a year ago and needed back surgery nine games into the 2020-21 season. The Nuggets remember how easily everything slid into place with Gordon in the mix. Newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pop...

Sixers' James Harden backs teammate Joel Embiid for MVP: 'He deserves it, man'

James Harden has been a member of the Philadelphia 76ers for less than two months, but that's been more than enough time for him to appreciate the brilliance of Joel Embiid. The duo is expected to help the Sixers compete for a championship, but Harden believes another trophy should be on its way to Philly this year. In an interview with Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Harden backed Embiid for MVP, saying "he deserves it, man." "I've only been here for a few weeks, but I already see his mindset," Harden said. "He wants to win. Some guys just want numbers, but he has both. He has the mentality of winning, and he scores the ball at a high level. I think he's prepared himself, especially coming off last year, for this year to be one of his best years." This has indeed been one of Embiid's best years. He's averaging a career-high 29.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.4 blocks while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 35.8 percent f...

Crossover World

Search This Blog