Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen has been diagnosed with a left ankle bone bruise after getting injured in training camp this week, the team announced (via Twitter).
Allen, who underwent an MRI to confirm the diagnosis, will begin undergoing treatment and going through a rehabilitation process and is expected to be reevaluated in two weeks, per the Cavs.
Cleveland’s regular season opener is still 18 days away, so it’s possible Allen will be cleared to play in that game. However, the club’s announcement today simply says he’ll be reevaluated in two weeks — not that he’ll necessarily be ready to return at that point.
Allen is a key contributor for a Cavs team looking to build upon last season’s 51-31 record and first-round playoff exit, so if he’s not cleared for opening night, hopefully his absence doesn’t extend too far beyond that. Last season, the 25-year-old averaged 14.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 32.6 minutes per night across 68 appearances (all starts).
Damian Jones and Tristan Thompson are Cleveland’s backups at the five, though it’s possible that if Allen isn’t good to go for the opener, the team would slide Evan Mobley over to center and use a smaller starting five rather than inserting Jones or Thompson into that group.
Damn iiiiiiiiit.
Damn shame the Cavs didn’t go after Dwight Howard or DaMarcus Cousins as a back up. I like Double T but wouldn’t feel too great about him being asked to start.
Probably going to be Damian Jones at the 5 which is… fine? Or they could do the smart thing and run both Mobley Brothers.
(They’ll probably run Evan at the 5 and play Dean Wade at the 4, which is the worst of all available options)
A better option would be sliding Evan Mobley to the 5 and using Niang at the 4. It’d be best if he tried to use the Mobley Brothers together but JB still sees Isaiah as a babysitting job to keep Evan happy. He has in affect made Isaiah the team’s 4th option in the post. 5th when you consider that he’d rather move Evan there and slide Wade or Niang to the 4. I’m quite certain Isaiah Mobley could easily outplay Thompson, Jones, Wade or Niang but I am not JB.
Hopefully this will lead to Isaiah Mobley getting more minutes and a chance to prove he belongs. Isaiah’s game is very similar to his brother’s game but he is better at passing and shooting. Evan is quicker and plays better defense though Isaiah is solid on defense as well. I hate to see Allen down but it is obvious JB will not give Isaiah Mobley a shot unless injuries force him to play the kid.
NBA should include a ‘nepotism waiver’ slot for any team with a Max player and a brother…
Except Evan is still on a rookie contract and Isaiah actually has a little bit of potential. It’s hardly nepotism.
At present the Bucks employ 2 sets of brothers. A number of other teams employ brothers in the NBA. It’s hardly a new thing. What makes the Mobley Brothers situation unique is that Bickerstaff refuses to trust Isaiah Mobley no matter how many honors he wins. All G league team ✔️. Summer League championship game MVP done ✔️. JB answers by signing another player to push the kid further down the bench. In the NBA Summer League Isaiah Mobley was a man among boys. He manhandled other teams lottery picks and yet JB would rather drag Tristan Thompson out of retirement than play Isaiah. This is more like anti nepotism.