The Cleveland Cavaliers have been struggling of late and it comes as no coincidence that All-Star big man Jarrett Allen has been sidelined due to a finger injury. The Cavs are feeling optimistic about their chances in the playoffs, though, especially considering how they expect to get Allen back sooner rather than later.
According to Chris Fedor of cleveland.com, the Cavs expect Allen to return right before the postseason begins:
Since the March 6 injury, when Allen bashed his finger on the rim attempting to contest a shot, both the Cavs and Allen have been optimistic about him returning before the regular season finale against Milwaukee on April 10. There’s no reason to think otherwise — even though Allen will be missing his 14th consecutive game in New York on Saturday.
This is obviously excellent news for the Cavs, who snapped their two-game losing streak on Saturday with a 119-101 win over the Knicks. Cleveland has won just two out of their last seven games.
Right now, the Cavs are seventh in the East which means that if they are unable to improve on their position, they will need to go through a Play-In game before booking their spot in the playoffs. It sounds like Jarrett Allen will be back by then which obviously boosts this team’s chances of making a postseason appearance for the first time since LeBron James led them to the Finals in 2018.