CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – All-Star center Jarrett Allen is out indefinitely with a broken finger the Cavaliers announced Monday.
Allen suffered the injury in the first quarter of Sunday night’s 104-96 win over the Toronto Raptors.
The team did not provide a timetable for Allen to return from the broken middle finger on his left hand.
Allen also suffered a bruised quadriceps, which led to him heading to the locker room. The broken finger was discovered later and confirmed when he underwent a CT scan Monday.
“We have that mentality that whoever’s in, whoever’s out, we all have to step up and play to our ability,” Kevin love said Monday following practice. “He’s the anchor of our defense. He means so much to this team.”
The injury to Allen could force Love, who had been coming off the bench this season following the selection of Evan Mobley third overall in the draft, back into the starting lineup.
The loss of Allen is the latest in a long list of injuries this season for the young Cavs that included the loss of guards Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio for the season due to knee injuries. Rubio and his expiring contract were traded before the deadline for veteran Caris LeVert, who is currently sidelined with a sprained foot.
All-Star guard Darius Garland has been in an out of the lineup due to a bone bruise in his lower back and Rajon Rondo is still out with a sprained big toe.
“It’s definitely been tough,” Love said. “Everybody has been wrecked by COVID, but even take that out, we’ve had guys miss a lot of games and I’m just glad we have so many damn pros on this team that have stepped up for us.”
In 56 games this season, Allen is averaging 16.1 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.
Cleveland, 37-27 and holding a three-game lead plus a tiebreaker for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race, begins a three-game road trip Tuesday night at Indiana followed by a back-to-back Friday and Saturday night against the two of the top four teams in the conference – Miami and Chicago.
“Every win is going to be huge for us moving forward,” Love said.