Jarrett Allen injury crushes Cleveland Cavaliers spirits

The Cleveland Cavaliers have endured a season of good feelings, finally finding solid ground in the years after LeBron James’ departure. One of the biggest reasons for that is big man Jarrett Allen.

The center has been having a career season for the Cavs, making his first All-Star Game, which was even held in Cleveland. Unfortunately, that could prove to be one of the final highlights of the year for Allen.

Cleveland Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen will likely miss extended time after fracturing his finger over the weekend

Unfortunately, Allen fractured his finger during the first quarter of Sunday’s victory over the Toronto Raptors. There’s no timetable set for his return, but he’s reportedly going to be out indefinitely.

Allen is averaging 16.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per game this season. He has formed a near-unstoppable one-two punch inside with rookie Evan Mobley, creating both a strong offensive force and an unshakable defensive backbone for the team.

The Cavs made a brief appearance just a spot out of the top of the Eastern Conference, but have been fading since the All-Star break. They’re now sixth in the Eastern Conference, sporting a 37-27 record. Losing one of their three best players definitely won’t help.

And Cleveland has been dealing with this situation all year. Collin Sexton has been out all year and Ricky Rubio has been out for virtually the same amount of time at this point. Rajon Rondo, who was brought in to replace Rubio, is also hurt, as is Caris LeVert, who they acquired at the trade deadline. Fellow All-Star Darius Garland has also been in and out of the lineup recently.

Mobley is going to have to take on a bigger role in Allen’s absence, no matter how long that is. While Mobley has quickly emerged as one of the team’s best players, handing the role of one of the team’s primary players to a rookie is never a fun idea. J.B. Bickerstaff doesn’t seem to have a choice, though.

Additionally, the Cavs just seem to be running out of bodies, and it’s starting to show in their performances. The team beat the Raptors the other night but has lost six of their last eight games. Cedi Osman, Kevin Love, and Lauri Markkanen all played at least 30 minutes against Toronto, with the latter hitting 38 minutes. It’s too taxing.

Cavs fans shouldn’t be discouraged about the long-term trajectory of this team. There are at least three players on the roster that either already are stars or have stardom in their near future. None are more than a few years into their careers and most should serve as building blocks for the franchise.

But the prospect of where this season will go is starting to fade. The Cavs have fallen from the potential to host playoff games at home to fighting just to avoid the play-in tournament.

The Cavaliers do have a relatively manageable schedule for the rest of the season, so staying afloat in the playoffs seems like a real possibility. However, it won’t be clear how Bickerstaff’s team will respond to Allen’s absence until they play the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, though.

It’s unfortunate that the Cavs’ chances this season have been diminished by a series of injuries, though. The injury to Jarrett Allen might be the most painful for Cleveland all year.