'Impossible to play through': Jarrett Allen actually had a broken rib, Cavs say

INDEPENDENCE — Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen missed the final eight games of Cleveland's playoff run with a rib injury, but it was originally stated to be a contusion. As it turns out, it was bit more serious.

Allen was actually dealing with a broken rib, as detailed by Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman Friday afternoon at the team's practice facility.

Allen took an elbow to the ribs multiple times during the Cavs' playoff series against the Orlando Magic. In Orlando during Game 4, it happened again, and Allen sat out the rest of the playoffs.

Recently dismissed coach J.B. Bickerstaff repeatedly said during the playoffs that Allen was doing everything he could to play through the injury, but a center not being able to lift his arms above his head like he needs to presents a major problem.

There was some speculation among fans online as to why Allen was sitting out so long with a bruised rib. But it wasn't just a bruise, it was also broken, though the team later said it wasn't a complete fracture. The term "pierced rib" was also used to describe the injury.

Allen was likely no longer an option, though he continued to try to make it work even leading up to the Cavs' Game 5 loss in Boston that ended their season.

Jarrett Allen broken rib leads to a 'massive' loss as Cavs fall to Celtics in NBA playoffs

The loss of Allen, often credited with being the team's defensive backbone, created issues for the Cavs as they tried to take down the top-seeded Celtics. Altman termed it a "massive" loss, but there was nothing Allen could do to return so quickly.

"I've never had a broken rib, but I've had several people reach out to me about how much it hurts. You can't drive to work. You can't sleep. You can't tie your sneakers," Altman said Friday. "Jarrett tried to give it a go. I mean, to the last day and a half, he was trying to go up and down this floor and do some real basketball moves. It's hard to play basketball if you can't raise your arms above your head.

"I know there was speculation of more stuff he could have done. It's impossible to play through what he was [trying to play] through."

For much of the season, Allen had an argument as being a top-10 NBA player by some of the league's analytical metrics. Altman called Allen the "most important player we had all year in terms of games played and his value."

Altman added he doesn't feel there was any issue with the relationship between Allen and the team after the injury report noting it was a contusion, which led to some fans questioning Allen's toughness.

"I mean, it's all semantics in terms of what you want to list it for," Altman said. "No strain on the relationship, though."

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavaliers' Jarrett Allen broken rib injury kept him out