The Cleveland Cavaliers picked up a very important win on Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors, as it moved them three games clear of Toronto for the 6-seed in the East and gave them the tiebreaker for the season series with the Raptors.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good news for the Cavs as they saw their All-Star center Jarrett Allen leave the game in the first half with a quad contusion that kept him out for the rest of the night. After the game, everyone awaited word on the severity of the injury and whether it’d keep him out for an extended period of time, but Shams Charania of The Athletic brought word of a different injury Allen suffered in the game. Apparently Allen suffered a fractured finger at some point before exiting that had not been previously reported, and per Charania, it will keep him out indefinitely.
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star center Jarrett Allen has suffered a fractured finger and is expected to be sidelined indefinitely, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 7, 2022
Cleveland is already trying to manage a back injury to their other All-Star, Darius Garland, who has returned the the lineup but still has that issue lingering and the Cavs will be looking for spots to get him rest to further heal up. Finding spots to rest Garland gets more difficult if Allen’s out, as Cleveland wouldn’t want to have two of its top players sidelined.
Hopefully Allen is able to make a fairly quick recovery and be back at full strength for the playoffs, but the road to the postseason is significantly bumpier now than the Cavs had hoped for coming out of the All-Star break. In his absence, Ed Davis figures to see an expanded role off the bench, while the defense will lean on Evan Mobley to be the chief anchor in the middle.