Jarrett Allen out, Cavs shuffle lineup vs. LeBron's Sixers

Allen hurt the knee in Wednesday's 124-116 loss to the Thunder. The first sign he wouldn't play came during warmups.

When your starting center skips his usual pregame routine, it usually means what you think it means. Sure enough, the Cavs ruled him out a few minutes later. There was some good news: Peyton Watson and Tyrese Proctor were both cleared to play.

Losing Allen hurts. He came in averaging 13.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks, and he's the guy who protects the rim. Jaylon Tyson is out too, so Kenny Atkinson had to shuffle the deck again. That's been a habit for this team, and they're 4-4 to start the year.

Harden and Mitchell run the backcourt, Sam Merrill brings the shooting, and Watson and Evan Mobley handle the frontcourt. That makes Mobley the center by default. He and Watson have to cover all the defense Allen normally handles, and Thomas Bryant is the likely backup big getting extra minutes. That's a small, offense-first group facing a Sixers team that already beat Cleveland once this season.

The timing is bad. Philly showed up 8-1 with the best record in the East. LeBron is playing his first game back in Cleveland since he picked the Sixers over the Cavs in free agency this summer. This is the game Cavs fans had circled, and their best rim protector is watching from the bench.

The bigger worry is Allen's health history. He missed 26 games last season with knee and finger injuries, so any knee issue makes people nervous. For now it's listed as a contusion, not anything structural. The Cavs play the second half of a back-to-back against the Knicks on Saturday, and Allen is questionable. If he can't go there either, Cleveland is looking at yet another new starting 5.