Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen’s departure from the team’s Friday night game was described in negative terms after the contest.
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com quoted an unnamed source who offered a blunt opinion of Allen’s injury.
“His eye got pretty messed up,” a source said.
Fedor added that “there’s initial worry about some kind of an absence, which comes at an inopportune time.”
The injury to Allen took place with less than four minutes left in the Cavaliers’ road matchup against the Miami Heat, a contest the Heat won by a 119-115 score.
After a missed 3-pointer by Cavs guard Ricky Rubio, Allen made an effort to grab the rebound. While battling for the ball, Allen’s right eye was hit by the Heat’s Bam Adebayo,
Allen immediately fell to the court, with the Cavaliers’ medical staff quickly checking out the big man. Officials looked into a possible flagrant foul call on Adebayo before ultimately simply assessing Adebayo a loose ball foul.
Exactly how “messed up” Allen’s right eye is remains a mystery. After the game, Cavaliers head coach J. B. Bickerstaff had no further update.
Losing Allen for any extended period, especially at this time of the season, would be a huge blow to the Cavaliers, who dropped to 42-27 after the loss. With just 13 games left in the regular season, the Cavs are seeking to hold on to their current position of having home-court advantage for at least the team’s first round playoff series.
Allen has been a central component in the Cavaliers’ strong defense this season. The team is currently in a three-way tie for the NBA’s best defensive rating with the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies.
On the year, Allen has been effective on both sides of the ball. In 62 games, he’s averaged 14.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 blocks per contest.
The injury to Allen no doubt brings back unpleasant memories of last season, when a finger injury forced Allen out of the final 18 regular season games for the Cavaliers.
At the time of Allen’s injury last year, the Cavaliers looked to be in position to compete in the postseason for the first time since 2018. Instead, they were relegated to the play-in portion of the schedule, where they lost two consecutive games to end their season.
