Cavaliers list Jarrett Allen questionable for Hornets game

Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen is questionable for Monday’s 7 p.m. ET game at the Charlotte Hornets with a right knee contusion, according to the NBA’s Sunday injury report.

Allen’s status matters after Cleveland allowed 26 second-chance points and scored eight in Saturday’s 109-97 loss to the New York Knicks, according to the NBA’s official game book.

Allen missed both games of Cleveland’s weekend back-to-back after injuring his right knee Wednesday against Oklahoma City. Heavy, republished by Yahoo Sports on Nov. 9, reported he collided knee-to-knee with Thunder guard Jared McCain while setting a screen.

The Cavaliers first listed Allen as questionable for Friday’s NBA Cup game against Philadelphia before ruling him out less than an hour before tipoff. They ruled him out earlier for the Knicks game before Sunday’s report reopened the possibility of a return in Charlotte.

Coach Kenny Atkinson adjusted by starting Evan Mobley at center and Peyton Watson at power forward against Philadelphia. Mobley had 22 points and six rebounds, while Thomas Bryant added 13 points and six rebounds off the bench, according to the Cavaliers’ box score.

Allen’s return would give Cleveland two established rebounders in its starting frontcourt. If he remains out, Bryant offers Atkinson a conventional center option when Mobley rests or shifts to power forward.

Cleveland’s injury report still lists Sam Merrill out for right elbow injury management, Jaylon Tyson out with a right ankle sprain and Nae’Qwan Tomlin out with a low back stress reaction. Khalifa Diop and Ernest Udeh Jr. are out for G League reasons.

Charlotte also has frontcourt uncertainty. The Hornets listed Moussa Diabaté as questionable with right quadriceps tendinopathy, a painful or irritated tendon condition, and ruled out Grant Williams with a right hamstring strain. Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller and Dennis Schröder are also out.

The Charlotte game opens Cleveland’s three-game road trip, followed by stops in New York and Miami. The Knicks rematch will follow Saturday’s game, when New York turned extra possessions into an 18-point second-chance scoring advantage.

Road trip checkpoints

Cleveland’s first checkable item is Allen’s availability before Monday’s 7 p.m. ET tipoff at Charlotte. The NBA injury report listed him questionable on Sunday, leaving the Cavaliers to decide whether he can return at the start of the trip.

The next observable is how Atkinson arranges the frontcourt if Allen does not play in Charlotte. The Philadelphia game offered one template, with Mobley at center, Watson at power forward and Bryant providing bench minutes.

After Charlotte, Cleveland travels to New York and Miami. The Knicks game will test whether the Cavaliers can reduce the second-chance scoring gap that reached 26-8 in New York’s favor on Saturday.

Source: Yahoo Sports republication of Heavy article, Nov. 9, 2026