Allen's knee matters because there's not much behind him. Khalifa Diop (knee) and Nae'Qwan Tomlin are both out. Tomlin has a lower back stress reaction and Chris Fedor reports he'll miss several weeks. Without Allen, the frontcourt comes down to Evan Mobley, Peyton Watson, Mario Hezonja, Jaylon Tyson and 2-way players Tristan Enaruna and Ernest Udeh Jr. That's a thin group to hand Randle, who just scored 33 in his Brooklyn debut by bullying his way to the rim.
Brooklyn has its own frontcourt hole. Rookie forward Tyler Bilodeau sat out the opener with a shoulder sprain, which left the Nets leaning on Randle and Porter for nearly all of their shot creation. That worked for 3 quarters against Charlotte. Over 48 minutes it didn't, and Cleveland on the road is a tougher test than a short-handed Hornets team at home.
The rest picture favors the Nets. Brooklyn gets 2 full days off between the opener and Saturday. Cleveland turns around from a road opener in Philadelphia with 1 day in between. The question to watch is whether Mobley and whoever starts next to him can keep Randle away from the paint. If they can, Brooklyn has to find a 3rd scorer it didn't have on Wednesday. If they can't, this game is closer than a 0-1 Nets team visiting Cleveland would suggest.
Tip is 7:30 PM ET at Rocket Arena. Check back after the Cavs play in Philly, because the Allen news from Thursday is what decides how this preview reads.