Jarrett Allen questionable for Raptors game with new finger injury

The injuries keep piling up for the Cavaliers, and now they may be down a second all-star for a few games.

During the Cavaliers 125-105 loss to the Boston Celtics, Jarrett Allen suffered a hand injury that required an X-Ray immediately following the game.

Allen suffered a non-displaced fracture in his distal phalanx, a bone on the tip of his left ring finger. He is undergoing a series of treatments for the injury and will be listed as questionable for the Cavaliers matchup against the Toronto Raptors on Friday.

Allen never left the game against Boston, playing through the injury but dealing with some minor discomfort throughout, according to Chris Fedor.

Fedor also said that Allen’s injury can often require a specific type of surgery to fix. Allen will try to play through it though, with the Cavaliers having multiple treatments for Allen to manage his pain and the swelling on his finger.

If Allen misses the game, the Cavs have plenty of options to adjust the lineup and rotation. Evan Mobley would likely shift over to center, allowing either Dean Wade or Larry Nance Jr. to take over as the power forward. Thomas Bryant will rotate as a back up big.

Allen missing time may be good for Mobley as the Cavaliers take another look at him as a center, a position he fits more naturally. There has been talk about Molbey taking more minutes at center, and this may be a way to ease him into it.

Allen has been solid for the Cavs so far this season. He’s been scoring 14 points per game, with 7.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals a night. 

In the season opener against the Knicks, Allen played his worst game in a while, scoring just four points with four rebounds. Since then, he’s been back in rhythm. He scored a season high 22 against the Brooklyn Nets and had a season high 11 rebounds against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Injuries have been piling up for the Cavaliers lately. Sam Merrill has had to miss time already, and the team is expected to be without Darius Garland, who will likely return some time early in November, or Max Strus for a substantial chunk of the season.

All these injuries have certainly tested the Cavaliers depth early this season, and required head coach Kenny Atkinson to consistently adjust lineups and rotations.

Hopefully this injury won’t slow Allen down too much, and he continues to provide a dominant paint presence for the Cavs alongside Mobley.