Darius Garland is still recovering from offseason surgery on his injured big toe. The Cleveland Cavaliers guard struggled to meet his usually high standards during the postseason, as he tried to play through the pain barrier.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, Garland’s surgery means that he may not be ready for the start of Cleveland’s training camp. It could also mean that he misses a handful of games to begin the 2025-26 campaign.
When speaking to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson admitted that he’s not expecting Garland to be ready by the start of training camp.
“I don’t,” Atkinson said. “That’s not a medical opinion or anything. That’s just my feeling on the situation. Under promise and over deliver. We’re not going to rush or push this. If he is ready, then great. I will rely on (trainer) Steve (Spiro) and Darius to tell me. But I don’t expect that.”
Garland was a key part of Cleveland’s rotation last season. He formed a fearsome offensive partnership with Donovan Mitchell in the Cavaliers’ backcourt. In 75 games, the two-time All-Star averaged 20.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists, shooting 47.2% from the field and 40.1% from deep.
Garland Must Add Some Strength
During a recent news conference, Koby Altman admitted that Garland must get stronger if he’s going to reach his full potential in the NBA.
“He (Garland) needs to get stronger so he can compete at the highest level,” Altman said. “It’s the same thing that [happened] with Stephen Curry. … Now, Steph is all-world. I’m not making that comparison. But Steph got stronger … over his years. He’s a different physical specimen than he was when he first started playing.”
Garland has long been viewed as a defensive liability for Cleveland. Opposing teams consistently hunt him in the half-court, and he struggles to fight through contact when trying to keep pace with his man. Cleveland will be hoping a summer of strength training and recovery helps him come back ready to disprove the narratives surrounding his defense.
Cavaliers’ Garland Pinpointed as a Weak Link
When speaking to the media after the Cavaliers eliminated the Miami Heat in the opening round of the 2025 NBA playoffs, Miami Heat forward Kyle Anderson admitted that he believes Cleveland was a better team when Garland was out of the rotation.
“If you want my honest answer,” Anderson said. “And I don’t mean to throw shots at anybody…They looked like a better team without Garland on the floor. I don’t know the numbers or anything. I think it played more to their favor once Garland wasn’t on the floor. They were able to dictate the tempo. Get more stops on defense, and it was harder for us to score. They had more guys out there on defense. Once we came across that, it got tougher for us.”
In fairness, Anderson’s comments were about a version of Garland that was playing on a painful injury. When fully healthy, Garland is too important to the Cavaliers’ roster to be seen as an easy target. Still, Anderson’s comments speak volumes for how much Garland’s injury was hindering him. Hopefully, Cavaliers fans will get to see him back to his best once he’s eventually cleared to play and return to the court.
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