Cleveland Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen finally had the opportunity to open up on his separate finger injuries after Tuesday's practice in preparation for the Chicago Bulls. He returned this past Sunday in his first game since November 28, notching nine points, three rebounds, and one assist in 23 minutes of action in the Cavs' loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
“Everything I do on the court, I couldn't do,” Allen said to reporters. “Even on the bench, trying to clap for teammates, I literally had to clap with my wrist to try to make it work. So I was struggling there for a while.”
Allen explained that his first injury occurred in the second game of the season, spraining his right finger in Brooklyn on October 24, and “it's been bothering me since.” The left ring finger fracture happened five days after that, on the road in Boston.
“I've basically been playing with two hurt fingers on two different hands for the past month before I sat out,” Allen said. “At this point, it's just been recovery, trying to make sure that I can get back in shape, make sure that I don't re-injure it and set myself back even further. So, it's just been a lot of conditioning, a lot of waiting, just a lot of trying to get ready to play again.”
These finger problems have affected Allen's ability to catch the ball and shoot with either hand.
“Honestly, they both hurt equally,” Allen said. “I mean, they were both bad. This one [on my left], breaking a bone, but spraining a ligament. Like, I can't even straighten this [right] finger out anymore. That's how bad it was.”
Staying in game shape and maintaining your wind is the worst part about being injured, Allen states. Before Sunday's game, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson shared that he'd been “conditioning his tail off,” which is a big reason why he was able to return.
“Literally every single day, I'm running four or five miles, doing sprints, pushing my body harder than it would be on the court, to be honest with you,” Allen said to ClutchPoints in the scrum. “Being sore the next day, trying to fight through that. It was a challenge being out, and that's one of the hardest parts that people don't understand. Things don't stop behind the scenes. You push harder than you did before.”
While sidelined, Allen wanted to keep his mind right, too, leaning into the group in the moment to keep a positive approach.
“I know myself. It's easy to check out,” Allen said. “Like, you're not playing. You don't really have to worry about things. You're not going to mess up. It's not going to be in the film session. But I bought into the team more. There are some games I'm standing up more, trying to cheer for the team, be more encouraging, and all that.
“Honestly, I never tried it. But this last game, still felt the same energy that I was trying to bring while I was off the court. I feel like it just kept me more in-tune and locked in.”
Atkinson thought that his first game back was good from a physical standpoint and relayed that there's no minute restriction for Allen. Process-wise, it could've been better.
“I think he lacked a little rhythm, right? It wasn’t the conditioning,” Atkinson said Tuesday. “It was more the decisions, paint decisions. But he’ll get back up to speed. The good thing is there was no [bad] feedback where the fingers were bothering him or anything. We’ve just got to get his rhythm, game rhythm going. It’s gonna take a couple games. It usually does when a guy’s out two, three weeks. It’s usually the decision-making that’s affected.”
“Just getting used to the pace of the game again,” Allen added. “This is a fast-paced league. It's hard to replicate what you're going to get in the game, like the speed, the pick and rolls, everything, guarding certain players. So, I just have to get in the swing of things again.”
It's good that the Cavs have Allen back now, considering Evan Mobley could be out up to a month with a left calf strain, depending on his recovery time.
Unlike last year, it has not been an easy season for Cleveland on the injury-luck front or the execution front. Still, the wine and gold are chugging along and doing their best to stay in the fight.
