Jarrett Allen doesn’t miss games. He played all 82 last season and suited up for 77 the year before.
That kind of durability is rare in today’s NBA, especially for a big man who bangs in the paint every night. So when Allen missed nine out of ten games between November and early December, it raised some eyebrows - and now we know why.
The Cavaliers center opened up this week about the injuries that kept him off the floor, and it turns out he was battling more than most realized. This wasn’t just a tweak or a sore muscle. Allen revealed that he’d been playing through not one, but two finger injuries - one on each hand - for nearly a month before finally sitting out.
“The first one happened, it was the second game of the season, where I sprained this finger against Brooklyn,” Allen said after practice on Tuesday. “That's been bothering me since then.
That game before Boston, before the game, broke my left finger. So I've basically been playing with two hurt fingers on two different hands for the past month before I sat out.”
That’s a lot to deal with, especially for a player whose game is built around physicality - catching lobs, securing rebounds, contesting shots - all of which require strong, healthy hands. Suddenly, those 14.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game don’t just look solid - they look gutsy.
Allen’s grit kept him on the floor longer than most would’ve managed, but eventually, the injuries caught up to him. Now, even though he’s back in the lineup, he’s still working his way back to full strength. The physical pain might be easing, but the road to game-shape is a different challenge altogether.
“At this point, it's just been recovery, trying to make sure that it can get back in shape, make sure that I don't reinjure it, and then set myself back even further,” Allen said. “It's just been a lot of conditioning, a lot of waiting, a lot of trying to get ready to play again.”
That last part - the conditioning - is what Allen says has been the toughest. And he’s not wrong.
The NBA isn’t a league where you can ease your way back in. The pace is relentless, the pick-and-rolls come fast and furious, and defending elite athletes night after night is a full-body test.
“This is the fast-paced league,” Allen added. “It's hard to replicate what you're going to get in the game. Like the speed, the pick and rolls, everything - guarding certain players.”
Still, even if Allen isn’t quite back to 100%, his presence alone makes a difference. With Evan Mobley now sidelined for up to a month, the Cavaliers need Allen’s size, rim protection, and veteran steadiness more than ever. He may not be flying around at full throttle just yet, but having him back in the rotation is a big win for Cleveland.
Injuries are part of the game, but what Allen showed - playing through pain, then putting in the work to get back - is the kind of leadership and toughness that doesn’t always show up in the box score. The Cavs are a better team with him on the court, and as he rounds back into form, they’ll be leaning on him more than ever.