A Cleveland Cavaliers veteran has offered a fairly telling quote about center Jarrett Allen’s playoff injury.
Veteran forward Marcus Morris admitted to FanDuel’s “Run It Back” show that he would have played through the injury that sidelined Allen, and expressed some surprise that Allen did not feature at all in the team’s five-game loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
.@MookMorris2 on Jarrett Allen missing playoff games due to injury.
"If you put me in that same position, do I play? Yes." pic.twitter.com/rmTsVZFKOe
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 24, 2024
“You don’t have the option to rehab, but you have the option to play,” Morris said of Allen’s rib issue. “I can’t speak on how bad it was for Jarrett. If you put me in that same position, do I play? Yes. But, you know, I can’t say how his body felt. Orlando was a very physical, physical-a– series, so I wasn’t surprised he didn’t come back in that one. A little bit surprised about the Boston one, but not too much about Orlando because they were some physical young cats, and he got hit one more time, it could have been different. I think Boston is not as physical, more just talent and skillful guys.”
Allen suffered the injury in Game 4 against Orlando and did not play again in the postseason. Reports claimed he refused a numbing injection that could have helped him play through the issue, which frustrated some teammates. Morris may well have been one of them.
Allen was a core part of the Cavaliers’ success, averaging 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game during the regular season. The narrative around him has turnd negative, however, and there are even reports that the Cavs could look into trading him before next season.
