CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers are without All-Stars Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen for their home opener on Friday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of injuries.
Garland has been dealing with a left hamstring issue that bothered Cleveland's point guard in Wednesday's opener at Brooklyn. He was listed as questionable and did not participate in the morning shootaround.
Allen has been sidelined for several weeks with a bone bruise in his left ankle. While the center has been doing some individual work in practice, he's not ready to play and the Cavs are going to continue to take it slow with Allen.
“He’s back on the floor,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "He’s running and then it’s just a matter of once he’s comfortable, once his conditioning is where he feels confident and then where the medical staff is with him and their comfort level to let him get out there.”
Bickerstaff is starting Donovan Mitchell, Isaac Okoro, Max Strus, Evan Mobley and Dean Wade against the Thunder. Wade sat out the opener at Brooklyn because of an illness.
Garland started against the Nets and scored 15 points with five assists in 32 minutes.
The Cavs lose a lot on the defensive end without Allen, who averaged 14.2 points and 9.8 rebounds last season.
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Tom Withers, The Associated Press
