An important Cavalier could be returning to the court shortly.
Injuries have defined the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ season through 25 games. They haven’t been able to keep key contributors healthy and haven’t been able to establish any kind of rhythm when their previously injured players have been available.
The Cavs have had some much-needed time off this week. They’ve used that to practice for consecutive days for one of the first times this season and are buying more time for their injured players to return to the lineup.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson provided updates for both Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill after the team’s practice on Tuesday. We’ll start with the good news first.
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Atkinson confirmed that Allen was a full participant in practice on Monday. He’s missed the team’s last five games with a right-finger strain. This is after being out a few games last month due to a non-displaced fracture on his other hand. Based on his participation in practice, we could be seeing Allen return to the starting lineup shortly.
Allen is averaging 14.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game on 57.3% shooting in 15 games.
We likely won’t be seeing Sam Merrill return that quickly. He was considered day-to-day a week and a half ago. That labeling may not be accurate anymore. He wasn’t a full participant in practice on Monday.
“I don’t know what to tell you guys,” Atkinson said when asked about Merrill’s injury on Monday. “He’s frustrated. We’re frustrated. It’s just a slow healing process. That’s where we are. … Swelling is decreasing, but you know the fact is, he’s still not able to shoot…and catch. It’s hard to move forward.”
Merrill injured his hand in the team’s Nov. 17 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. He returned to the game after initially injuring it, but hasn’t been available since.
On the season, Merrill is averaging a career-high 13.9 points per game while shooting 44.2% from beyond the arc.
Category: General Sports
