Cavs’ Jarrett Allen Opting Against Finger Surgery

Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen will not undergo surgery on his fractured left middle finger, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Allen, 23, has missed the past several games and while there is no timeline for his return, is expected to be back before the playoffs in April, Haynes wrote. Surgery would likely require Allen to miss playoff games.

“The plan is to take it day-by-day with hopes the 6-foot-11 center will return to the lineup at some point during the final 12 regular season games,” Haynes reported.

The Cavs (39-29) entered Tuesday night in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. So the mission will be to try to hold on as long as possible, with rising rookie Evan Mobley primarily manning the middle in Allen’s absence. So far, Mobley has been up to the task.

Allen is coming off the first All-Star Game appearance of his career and averaging 16.3 points and 10.9 rebounds on the season. He suffered the injury in the March 6 win over the Raptors. He also suffered a quad contusion in that game, but should be recovered from that even before the finger.

He could be spotted on the Cavs’ sideline on Monday, sporting a large split on the injured hand.