Cavaliers vs. Hawks injuries: Jarrett Allen ’50-50′ for play-in game, per report; John Collins out

The final game of the 2022 Eastern Conference play-in tournament has been set. On Friday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers will host the Atlanta Hawks in a winner-take-all matchup for the right to be the No. 8 seed and face the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. 

It should be an interesting matchup between a Cavaliers team that got off to a brilliant start but faded down the stretch, and a Hawks team that did the opposite this season. Unfortunately, as is so often the case around this time of year, injuries will play a big part in who advances. 

Here is a quick update on the injury situation for Friday night:

Jarrett Allen (broken finger): ’50-50′ to play, per report

Allen, who made his first All-Star Game earlier this season, suffered a broken finger against the Toronto Raptors on March 6 and has not played since. Without him, the team limped to a 7-11 finish and a spot in the play-in tournament. He did not play in the team’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets earlier this week in the first game of the play-in, but he is trending in the right direction.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Allen is “50-50” to play against the Hawks, though his final status will not be determined until closer to game time. If Allen can come back, even in a limited capacity, it would be a huge boost for the Cavs. They were 33-19 when Allen and Evan Mobley were both healthy in the regular season, and 11-15 when at least one of them was out. 

John Collins (finger and foot sprains): Out

As for the Hawks, they will officially be without one of their key frontcourt players. The team announced on Thursday that power forward John Collins will remain sidelined due to finger and foot sprains. He has played in just four games since mid-February. 

While the Hawks have played some good basketball down the stretch without Collins, they would obviously love to have him back as he’s a big part of what they do on both sides of the ball. He has progressed to four-on-four workouts, and could make a return later in the playoffs if the Hawks are able to get through the play-in and into an actual series. 

Bogdan Bogdanovic (ankle sprain): Questionable

Bogdanovic is officially listed as questionable after he was added to the injury report with a sprained ankle, but it’s hard to imagine he sits out. He played 25 minutes in the Hawks’ win over the Charlotte Hornets in the first play-in game, finishing with 13 points off the bench. 

It’s something to keep an eye on if he looks less than 100 percent, but he should be out there. 

Lou Williams (low back discomfort): Out

The veteran shooting guard has been dealing with nagging back injury for a few weeks and will remain sidelined for the game against the Cavaliers. He plays pretty limited minutes at this stage of his career, but he’s a confident, experienced scorer who is nice to have as an option off the bench.