The Cavs may already be facing their season opener in Philadelphia with a thinner front line than they wanted. Jarrett Allen has been listed as questionable for Thursday night with right patellar tendinopathy, or knee tendonitis, and that puts Cleveland in a tricky spot before it even tips off against Joel Embiid and the Sixers.
The injury is not new for Allen. He missed 10 games last spring because of the same issue, and it also cut into his effectiveness in the postseason.
A year ago, Cleveland managed his workload with minute restrictions, and that possibility is back on the table here. For a matchup where Embiid can pile up contact and force teams to defend the paint for long stretches, the Cavs would prefer every bit of size they can get.
Cleveland is already working with two unavailable bigs, since Nae’Qwan Tomlin is out with a back issue and Khalifa Diop is sidelined by a knee injury. That leaves Evan Mobley and two-way signee Ernest Udeh Jr. in the mix behind Allen, with Thomas Bryant standing as the most experienced backup option if Allen can’t go.
If Allen sits, Mobley would move into the starting center role. Thomas Bryant would be the primary reserve, and Cleveland would need to piece together the rest of the lineup around that smaller frontcourt look. The projected group would have Peyton Watson at power forward, Jaylon Tyson at small forward, Donovan Mitchell at shooting guard and James Harden at point guard.
Tyson also has a note worth remembering from last season: he scored 39 points against Philadelphia in an ESPN game and delivered the winning assist to Mobley. The USC product also should be ready if Cleveland asks him to handle the 5 spot.
There is at least a sliver of optimism in the fact that Allen is questionable rather than doubtful or out. He could still play.
But if he does, a minutes restriction would not be a surprise. If he doesn’t, the Sixers would look like a much steeper opening-night test for a Cavs team already short on size.
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The generational gap around him keeps getting harder to ignore. A number of notable players already in the NBA, or on the rise toward it, were not even born when James made his debut in 2003, which is the kind of detail that turns an otherwise routine season-opening note into something much bigger. And with James still adding to that ledger, the question is less about whether he has outlasted his peers than how much longer this unusual run can keep stretching the leagues timeline. [Read more 🡒]