On Sunday afternoon, the Cleveland Cavaliers issued a mass injury update ahead of their game against the Boston Celtics. The team revealed that big man Jarrett Allen will be out for a week with a right finger strain, Larry Nance Jr. has been sidelined for three to four weeks due to a Grade 1 soleus strain in his right leg, and Sam Merrill is being considered day-to-day with a sprained right hand.
Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson provided an extended update on Allen's finger in his pregame press conference.
“I think he was playing with a lot of discomfort,” Atkinson said. “I give him a lot of credit for trying to fight through it, but it was obvious to him and obvious to me, quite honestly, watching it. He was really protecting it. And it’s kind of both hands, and it's just hard. He can't catch too well, and we just wanted to give him a little time to heal it a little more. We just said, ‘Alright, let's give it a period of time where it gets a little better, heal up a little, and then go back at it.'”
Atkinson shared that Cleveland tried to give him some practice days and manage the situation as best as possible, and Allen wanted to push through. However, it affected his play to the point where it was helping neither party.
“Let these, both of 'em, heal,” Atkinson said. “It's not just one. He's got a fracture in one, and then the other one's damaged. And if you're a center, it's almost like being a tight end. You've got to catch the ball, and if you're having problems, issues catching the ball, whether it's catching in a pocket or going for a rebound…. There were multiple clips where I just saw him going with one hand.”
Nance was injured on Friday night in Atlanta, the latest of many wine-and-gold setbacks. Merrill is missing his sixth straight game, too. Atkinson admits that it's been much more challenging this season compared to last year, where the Cavs had much better injury luck.
“I felt last year we were just running the same lineup, same rotations,” Atkinson said. “You get on this rhythm, and that's how you get momentum. This has been a little jagged and therefore clunky, and we've just got to embrace it. And [Sunday] we'll play three young guys. We're going to roll with it. I trust those guys. They're getting better. They're playing like rotation players.
“But I would say this: the rest of the league is dealing with it too. We are not the only ones in this bucket. Maybe we've had a little more bad luck, but we're not the only ones. So, [it's] just part of managing an NBA season. Last year was not reality in terms of… teams just don't stay that healthy.”
Cleveland has sent out 11 different starting lineups to this point, which illustrates Atkinson's point. With November coming to a close, the Cavs are 12-8 and in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference.
