Is Jarrett Allen playing tonight, March 21? Cavs vs Nets injury report [UPDATED]

The Cleveland Cavaliers just enjoyed a long weekend, playing the Washington Wizards on Friday night and then not playing again until tonight, Tuesday, as they face off with the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center. The Cavs are clinging to a faint hope of climbing to the three seed, but most likely are looking at settling into fourth.

When playing the Nets, a potential first-round opponent, the Cavs hope to have all hands on deck. Will they have their All-Star center in the lineup?

Jarrett Allen injury update (Updated March 21st)

Update: Jarrett Allen is expected to play tonight against the Brooklyn Nets. He has been upgraded to AVAILABLE and barring an unexpected setback will start.

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Jarrett Allen is currently listed as questionable for tonight’s game with an eye contusion. After practicing intermittently and partially over the past week, Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor reported yesterday that Allen was a full participant in practice yesterday before traveling to Brooklyn:

Allen first suffered the injury on March 10th, when Bam Adebayo appeared to inadvertently swipe Allen across the face while fighting for a rebound. Allen went down immediately and was taken back to the locker room clutching a towel to his eye. He would not return to the game.

Thankfully, testing over the next two days concluded that Allen had suffered an eye contusion rather than something more serious. Allen’s absence would therefore be measured in days rather than months.

The Cavaliers have played without Allen for the subsequent four games, going 3-1 against a favorable schedule. The extra time off this past weekend has certainly helped, and Allen has a great chance to play tonight depending on his pain level and whether any increased swelling occurs.

Cleveland has a number of options to replace Allen, from playing Robin Lopez to more minutes to going small with increased roles for Lamar Stevens and Dean Wade. Still, role-player depth is not the same as having the two-way impact of Allen in the lineup.

There are no other players listed on the injury report, so if Allen is able to go the Cavaliers will be at full strength. On the other side of the matchup, the Brooklyn Nets will be without Ben Simmons (probably to Brooklyn’s benefit) and may not have Dorian Finney-Smith.

The Cavs will play the Nets twice this week. Beating the Nets solidifies the Cavs’ chances of homecourt advantage in the first round, but decreases their chances to facing the Nets. If they lose, the silver lining is that it increases the chances of Brooklyn finishing fifth and playing Cleveland. Hopefully, the Cavs will have Allen in the lineup to test themselves against a playoff foe.