The Brooklyn Nets have come out and said that Jarrett Allen will be returning to the team for Game 6 of their playoff series against the Toronto Raptors. If this assumption is correct, it would mean a win in one game could send them on a run to make it all the way back into the playoffs. The question remains whether they can pull off such an amazing comeback without him.
The “All Signs Point to Jarrett Allen returning at Most Crucial Time” is a statement that the Brooklyn Nets have been waiting for. The team has been struggling without their starting center, and it looks like they are finally going to get him back. Read more in detail here: jarrett allen.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are hoping that center Jarrett Allen will be able to recover from a finger injury before the conclusion of the NBA regular season in 2021-22. This looks to be the case as the Cavs open a two-game road trip in Orlando on Tuesday.
For the Cavaliers, Allen’s absence came at a critical moment. Since then, Cleveland has dropped to the No. 7 seed and will almost surely compete in the play-in round. However, JA’s return might provide the spark the Cavs need to progress to the traditional playoff round.
Since Jarrett Allen’s injury, the Cavaliers have battled hard.
On March 4, 2022, Jarrett Allen dunks the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers | Getty Images/Mitchell Leff
Allen was one of Cleveland’s defensive mainstays and a rim-rolling danger who thrived in pick-and-roll settings with Darius Garland throughout the bulk of the 2021-22 season. Without him on the court, the Cavaliers’ season has taken a turn for the worst.
Since Allen’s first game on the bench on March 8, the Cavs have gone 6-9. No stops have been made by a previously strong defense. Cleveland has a defensive rating of 21st in the past 15 games, according to NBA.com, and the Cavaliers have gone 2-6 in their last eight games.
Other reasons contributed to the defeat. Evan Mobley, the team’s rookie sensation, has missed the last four games due to an ankle injury. Without your starting frontcourt and two top defenders, it’s difficult to win games.
It’s not as if everything has come to a halt. Since the All-Star break, Garland has quietly put up impressive statistics, averaging 25.1 points, 10.4 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in 18 games.
Still, if the Cavaliers are to make a surprising postseason run, Allen must be on the court. Fortunately for Cavs fans, his comeback seems to be in the cards for the last two games of the regular season.
Allen boarded the plane with the rest of the group for the trip to Orlando.
Jarrett Allen probably wouldn’t have joined the Cavaliers for their two-game road trip if he hadn’t planned to partake in basketball exercises and ratchet things up in his quest to recover from injury. He is, nonetheless, a member of the team.
Chris Fedor of cleveland.com reported Allen was on the flight to Orlando. Although Fedor later added that Allen has already been ruled out against the Magic, his presence indicates he might try to take the floor against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
The Cavaliers are undoubtedly concerned about Allen’s ability to accept contact and his finger’s recovery. However, they would very certainly want him to acquire some game repetitions before the play-in. The more repetitions he gets, the higher his chances of playing in Brooklyn rather than at home against the Milwaukee Bucks in the regular-season finale.
Can the Cavs reclaim the midseason form that made them an analytics favorite in the Eastern Conference now that Allen is on the cusp of returning the rotation and Mobley is almost definitely close behind?
A completely healthy Cavs team has the potential to be a sleeper.
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If Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley can successfully reintegrate into the lineup, the Cavaliers will be a frightening opponent for any Eastern Conference favorite in the first round.
With Allen and Mobley lurking in the paint, opponents will struggle to score inside. The danger both bigs bring on short rolls might help Garland as a scorer and facilitator by allowing him to spread the floor more.
Consider this: the Cavs are 2-1 versus the Bucks this season, including a 19-point win against a full-strength Milwaukee squad on Jan. 26. What is the significance of this? The Bucks are just 0.5 games behind the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, and they might play Cleveland in the first round.
Maybe you’re cherry-picking too much. The Cavaliers could easily face the Boston Celtics or Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, despite having a combined 1-6 record versus both clubs. Before any of that can happen, Cleveland must first get beyond the play-in round.
Allen’s possible return, though, makes the Cavs much more dangerous. At the very least, they could put up a challenge against an Eastern Conference favorite.
Unless otherwise stated, all stats are courtesy of Basketball Reference.
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