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In their opening-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic, Jarrett Allen was the Cleveland Cavaliers' unsung hero. However, Allen suffered a cracked rib in Game 4 of the first-round playoff series. Allen would miss the following eight games of the playoff run with an injury that became an ongoing point of contention. Fans and even his former teammates called Allen's integrity into question. Confusing wordage and Allen being repeatedly listed as “questionable” rather than “out” led to even more speculation throughout the following months. But during Cavs Media Day, Allen finally set the record straight.
“I think that definitely contributed to the skepticism of the injury,” Allen said. “With rib injuries, you don’t understand how bad it is until you go through it — looking at the CT scan you can still see the piece of bone that’s still floating in my body, it was definitely a worse injury than people thought.”
Allen spoke about how difficult it was for him to sleep and even raise his arms above his head during the recovery process. As much as it killed him to be on the sidelines, he simply couldn’t compete at playoff intensity with his injury, no matter how others felt about it.
“I feel like I’m very sure of myself; if I was able to play, I would play,” Allen said. “It’s understandable [why people were skeptical of his injury], but it takes a lot more to get under my skin.”
What else did Jarrett Allen have to say at Cavs Media Day?
He also had one of the best regular seasons of his career in the 2023-24 campaign, averaging 16.5 points (a career-high), 10.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. Allen was highly durable, playing 77 of 82 regular season games for Cleveland. He takes pride in his durability and, heading into the 2024-25 campaign, is also something Allen wants to maximize by playing all 82 games.
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“I want to be able to go out there every single game, every single night, and just be with my teammates,” Allen said. “It’s a big chip on the shoulder. I want to prove that I’m still the player that I am, that I’m still going to be out there every single night trying my hardest and making an impact.”
Now that he is healthy again, that certainly could happen. It helps that Allen is reunited with old head coach Kenny Atkinson, who coached Allen while they were together in Brooklyn. Under Atkinson, the focus is on the Cavs shooting more three-pointers and playing at a faster pace. While Allen is more than comfortable playing faster basketball, he is also open to spacing the floor.
Is Jarrett Allen from deep going to be a thing for the Cavs?
“Every year, the talk is always about J.A. shooting more threes,” Allen said, flashing his iconic smile. “But, hopefully, we can finally make that happen.”
Whether or not Allen is joking remains to be seen. But, after re-signing with Cleveland on a three-year, $91 million maximum extension, he's here not just for a long time. He's here for a good time, too.
“I like it here,” Allen said. “I like the city and I like the people here. It’s easy to say in front of everybody just to hype everybody up, but I truly do genuinely like it here. I believe in it here. I’ve put in three and a half years to try to see this team succeed. I'm genuinely happy that they’ve put their trust in me for another whatever years.”
