Scheduled
Cleveland Cavaliers at Philadelphia 76ers
2026-27 · Regular season
Thursday NBA injury report: Jarrett Allen questionable for Cavaliers opener, Dean Wade upgraded and Jake LaRavia hurts his ankle
Jarrett Allen is questionable with jumper's knee for Cleveland's opener in Philadelphia, Dean Wade is upgraded to questionable, Denver lists Spencer Jones and rules out Julian Strawther, and Jake LaRavia rolled his right ankle late in the Lakers' win.
In this article
Thursday’s two-game NBA slate brings a late scare for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Center Jarrett Allen was added to the league’s first injury report for the Cavaliers’ season opener in Philadelphia and is questionable with right patellar tendinopathy, the condition usually called jumper’s knee. The 76ers, meanwhile, upgraded Dean Wade from out to questionable, and Denver listed Spencer Jones as questionable and ruled out Julian Strawther for its opener in Oklahoma City.
Wednesday’s 11 games passed without a major injury until late in the Lakers’ rout of the Warriors, when Jake LaRavia rolled his right ankle. Times below are Eastern, with Cairo seven hours ahead.
Cavaliers at 76ers, 7 p.m. ET (2 a.m. Friday in Cairo)
Allen was not on the injury report at all until Wednesday afternoon, when Cleveland filed its first list of the season and put him down as questionable. The Cavaliers had already ruled out Khalifa Diop (left knee injury management) and Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who has a low back stress reaction and will be reevaluated in three to four weeks. If Allen cannot play, Kenny Atkinson is down to Evan Mobley and limited depth at center for the first game of the season. Sam Merrill, who missed the last two preseason games with a right elbow issue and practiced fully on Tuesday, is not listed. Camryn Justice had the Cavaliers’ update.
Philadelphia’s report is shorter than it was on opening night. Wade, who sat out Tuesday’s 106-100 win at Madison Square Garden with a left ankle sprain, is now questionable rather than out. Dominick Barlow (low back stress reaction) remains out after being diagnosed with a bone stress response on Monday. Tacko Fall, now listed with a left quadriceps strain, and Ariel Hukporti, who is out for the season with a torn right Achilles, are also out. Adam Aaronson posted the Sixers’ list.
Nuggets at Thunder, 9:30 p.m. ET (4:30 a.m. Friday in Cairo)
Denver has only two names on its report. Jones is questionable with what the team calls bilateral hamstring injury management, and Strawther is out with a left knee sprain. The Nuggets have not said how long Strawther will be out.
Oklahoma City, which opened with a 116-104 win at San Antonio on Tuesday, lists the same three players it was without in that game: Otega Oweh (right Achilles surgery), Thomas Sorber (right knee surgery) and Nikola Topic (low back surgery). Chet Holmgren is not on the report. Game Center.
Wednesday night: LaRavia rolls his right ankle
LaRavia had been one of the bright spots of the Lakers’ opening win. He made 4 of his 5 shots, including two threes, for 10 points in 18 minutes off the bench before he turned his right ankle on a drive with 5:34 left and the Lakers ahead by more than 30. He stayed down for a moment before getting up and walking to the locker room with a trainer under his own power. Dan Woike was among those who described the play.
After the 127-105 win, JJ Redick said he did not have an update on LaRavia yet, but that he felt more positive about the injury than he did when it happened, Jovan Buha reported. Redick added that he would have more the next time he speaks to the media.
The Lakers host the Clippers on Friday at 10 p.m. ET, which is 5 a.m. Saturday in Cairo, so Thursday’s report will be the first official word on LaRavia. JJ Redick said before Wednesday’s game that Cameron Carr (right oblique strain) and Adou Thiero (left knee swelling) are ramping up and can be considered day-to-day, and that Collin Sexton (right soleus strain) had no setback and was held out only as a precaution, Daniel Starkand reported.
In Houston, Alperen Sengun gave the Rockets a brief scare. He asked to come out holding his lower back a few possessions after taking a charge on Cooper Flagg and headed toward the locker room, but he was back on the bench shortly after and finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes of a win over Dallas. The Rockets play at San Antonio on Friday.
How Wednesday’s questionable list played out
Most of the players listed as questionable for Wednesday ended up out. Luke Kennard (left knee tendinopathy) was ruled out a little more than an hour before Phoenix’s 124-83 loss in Portland. Malik Monk went from questionable to doubtful to out with left ankle soreness for Sacramento’s game against the Clippers. Houston’s Steven Adams (right calf) and Dallas’ Jett Howard (right calf) were also downgraded to out, and Memphis held out Isaiah Stewart (left ankle sprain). Chicago played without Jordan Hawkins and Dailyn Swain, who both had a stomach illness.
On the other side, Deni Avdija played through right ankle soreness after Micah Nori called him a game-time decision, scoring 18 points in 23 minutes of the Blazers’ blowout. Stephen Curry was upgraded from probable to available and started for Golden State despite the right ankle soreness from his slip in Sunday’s practice. Miami’s Vladislav Goldin, Houston’s Julian Phillips and Portland’s Micah Potter were all cleared. For Chicago, Zach Collins returned on a minutes limit and Josh Giddey revealed a wrist injury after the loss in Toronto.
What comes next
The league updates the report through Thursday, and teams usually confirm questionable players after morning shootarounds and again in the final hour before tip. The 24 teams playing in Friday’s 12 games file their first reports on Thursday afternoon ET, around midnight in Cairo. The names to watch there are LaRavia, Dylan Harper (right ankle) for San Antonio, Mitchell Robinson (ankle) for Boston, AJ Dybantsa (left ankle sprain) for Washington and Anthony Black (right ankle sprain) for Orlando. Our Thursday preview has more on both games, and the injuries page tracks every team’s latest list.
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