The Cleveland Cavaliers will not have Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill for Friday's road matchup against the Washington Wizards, extending their absences and leaving the wine and gold without those two key players for the fifth straight game. Despite the team ruling them out, however, both have made progress this week.
After Thursday's practice, Merrill was wearing a wrap partially on his right hand while going through a workout.
“Really good news,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said, glancing over at Merrill dribbling against two of his assistant coaches. “[He's] actually shooting with his shooting hand, which is a pleasant sight to see.”
Before that, Merrill hadn't been able to do anything with his right hand, which has been swollen and sprained since a reach-in attempt on Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in mid-November. There is nothing structurally wrong with it, but Cleveland's swingman hadn't been able to catch or shoot. At least now he's showing the ability to do one of those things.
Allen only participated in half of the Cavs' latest practice and didn't take full-on contact. Unfortunately, that is a downgrade from Tuesday afternoon's session where he did everything. Allen has been dealing with two separate finger injuries on each hand, with his left ring finger fractured and his right third finger strained.
In addition to Merrill and Allen, Cleveland veteran forward Larry Nance Jr. was getting shots up after practice at the near court with a wrap on his right calf.
Atkinson also spoke about Max Strus' return status, which hasn't changed from the three-to-four months the organization initially estimated as the recovery time post-surgery.
“Just kind of no update in terms of, ‘Hey, it's gonna be faster or slower,'” Atkinson said. “Same timeline. I think he's in a good way in terms of his recovery.”
Strus is making his way back from a Jones fracture in his left foot, while Merrill and Allen are inching closer to coming back to the floor.
