Jarrett Allen Participates In Practice, Could Return This Week For Cleveland Cavaliers

It seems like Jarrett Allen’s return is imminent.

After the Cleveland Cavaliers practiced on Monday, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said that Allen “participated in everything” the team did during its session. The practice comes on the same day the Cavs are traveling to Brooklyn for two games in three days against the Nets.

“He’ll be with us [in Brooklyn],” Bickerstaff said. “And again, like I said, he participated today and we’ll see how he responds tomorrow.” He added that Allen will not need to wear protective goggles when he does return.

Allen has missed four games after suffering a right eye contusion on March 10 late in a game against the Miami Heat. For the year, he’s averaging 14.4 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 62 games. Cleveland is 5-5 on the year when Allen is out of the lineup.

“We miss his spirit,” Bickerstaff said. “He’s a guy who leads in a different way, but he leads nonetheless. And guys love to follow him. The effort that he plays with on the floor is contagious and guys follow that. And then, obviously, the basketball piece — defensively, what he does to protect the rim, how he helps us rebound, how he helps anchor our defense.”

“I think Evan [Mobley]’s top-three in defensive player of the year,” Cavs guard Caris LeVert said on Monday. “JA should be right there too, to be honest with you. Just with how he impacts the game, pick and rolls, being that anchor for us at the rim defensively for us and then switching out onto guards too. There’s not many bigs who can move the way he can and pick things up as quickly as he can on the fly. He’s been super valuable for our defense.”

Against Brooklyn, Bickerstaff is expecting to see “capable” opponent.

“They have individual competitors,” he said. “They have very versatile guys, like [Mikal] Bridges has taken a big step on the offensive end of the floor. We know Spencer Dinwiddie and what’s he’s capable of. So we expect them to come out like their back is against the wall, so we have to be prepared for that.”