Jarrett Allen’s night in Oklahoma City ended early, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are now waiting on a concerning update.
Allen is doubtful to return Wednesday after suffering a right knee injury against the Thunder. He left after going 0-for-1 from the field and collecting one rebound, with Oklahoma City already ahead 37-20 after the first quarter at Paycom Center in the second game of the teams’ back-to-back set.
The knee issue is a familiar one for Allen. Last season, tendinitis flared up on March 3 against the Detroit Pistons, and he missed 10 games before returning March 27 against the Miami Heat. Kenny Atkinson kept him on a limited workload that night, saying the team was glad to have time to build him back up.
"It starts at the rim with him - at both ends," Atkinson said.
Allen played a little more than 18 minutes in that return, and in April he told Chris Fedor of cleveland.com that the knee still bothered him and was not fully right.
The problem popped up again before this season’s Oct. 22 opener at Philadelphia, when Cleveland listed him as questionable with right patellar tendinopathy. Allen said that morning he was being careful with the knee as he entered his 10th season and that the soreness felt "a little bit" like last March.
"I’d be lying if I said there wouldn’t be limitations," Allen said. "There’s pain there.
But do I think it’s going to hold me back to a detriment? No, I don’t think so."
He had just turned in one of his best outings of the season on Oct. 31 at Milwaukee, finishing with 25 points and 11 rebounds while making 12 of 16 shots. In Monday’s 117-112 loss to the Thunder, Allen scored 14 points in 28 minutes and finished plus-11, though Atkinson closed with Evan Mobley as his lone big.
Allen’s résumé in Cleveland keeps growing. Last season he averaged 15.4 points and 8.5 rebounds in 56 games while shooting 63.8%.
His career high is 40 points and 17 rebounds, set against the Portland Trail Blazers. Brooklyn selected him 22nd overall in 2017 out of Texas, and Cleveland acquired him in January 2021 before he became an All-Star a year later.
The Cavaliers were already thin Wednesday. Peyton Watson, Jaylon Tyson, and Nae’Qwan Tomlin were all out, with Tyson missing his third straight game. Tyrese Proctor made his second career start in Watson’s place, while Meleek Thomas, who started Monday, moved to the bench.
That left Mobley and Thomas Bryant as the other bigs available. Cleveland entered the night at 4-3, while Oklahoma City came in at 5-2 and remained without Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Cason Wallace.
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