Sam Merrill and Jarrett Allen’s injury timelines are ‘in the same bucket’
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson doesn’t sound particularly optimistic Sam Merrill and Jarrett Allen are coming back soon. After the Wine and Gold’s last 122-110 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, he provided complete transparency with two nagging injuries that are “in the same bucket.”
“Until they actually catch the ball … I don’t know what that means,” Atkinson said in his postgame press conference. “There was no setback with either. I think it was slower, wasn’t it? Slow process.”
Atkinson was first asked about Merrill, who has missed the last eight games with a sprained right hand. He was injured on the first defensive possession of Cleveland’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks, when he reached to help the defense strip the ball from Giannis Antetokounmpo on a drive to the basket. Merrill really played it that night, scoring 20 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting, but his arm has has swelled significantly since then.
“I spoke to Sam (Wednesday),” Atkinson said. “He’s like, ‘Man, I wish this would get better, and I’m still doing everything left-handed.’ So this is not an ankle sprain. This is like you need hands to catch the ball.”
Allen has a similar situation, dealing with a broken left ring finger and a sprained right third finger. After missing three games from Nov. 21-24, Cleveland’s forward gave the lead on the road against the Atlanta Hawks. After a film session and discussion between the coaches and players, both decided it would be best to heal.
“JA has it in both hands, doesn’t she?” Atkinson said. “And he said he had a hard time catching the ball.”
Amid the bumps in the road, injuries do this the start for the Cavs is uneven.
“We can’t throw those guys out there under those conditions,” Atkinson said. “I wish I could give you (a more definitive answer). I even asked Sam, he said, ‘I don’t know, it’s healing slowly.’ So that’s the best I could do (for an update).”
Until Meryl and Allen are back in the group, others will have to step up.
2025-12-04 12:56:00
