The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t been at full strength this season. All-Star point guard Darius Garland has yet to play this season after having toe surgery in June. He was expected to miss four to five months after undergoing that surgery.
Garland wasn’t at his best during the playoffs when the Cavaliers were taken out by the Indiana Pacers. He has been working diligently to return as soon as he possibly can to help the Cavs, who are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
Without Garland, the Cavs are seventh in the Eastern Conference. Now, Garland is about to return, possibly as soon as Wednesday, to put them back at full strength.
Cleveland Cavaliers Point Guard Darius Garland to Return as Soon as Wednesday
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Garland will return as soon as Wednesday from his toe injury. Garland is one of the best point guards in the NBA when he is healthy, and now he will give the Cavs another gear.
Without Garland in the lineup, the offense hasn’t been as smooth. They are scoring the eighth-fewest points in the NBA without him running point. They have the fifth-worst net rating on offense in the league. They simply need his scoring punch.
Garland is someone who puts the ball in the hoop at an elite level. This also prevents teams from being able to focus all of their efforts on shutting down Donovan Mitchell. Garland is someone who can score at all three levels, and still gets his teammates involved.
Before the season, Garland knew that health was going to be one of the big keys to winning a title. He mentioned that during media day.
“Stay healthy, one. That’s my number one job right now, stay healthy.”
With Garland set to return, the Cavaliers can now start to get back to what they do best on the offensive end of the court. They are still without Max Strus and Sam Merrill, which hurt their depth at the guard spot. Having Garland return helps ease that pain.
Cavaliers Guard Darius Garland Will Return This Week
Even if Garland isn’t able to return on Wednesday against the 76ers, the Cavs will have him back on Friday against the Wizards. They do play a back-to-back on that Saturday, so it’s unclear if the Cavs are willing to have him play in back-to-back games yet.
The Cavaliers started the season 4-3 without him, so they were able to tread water. Now, they are going to try to get back into the fight for the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. For now, they just need Garland to get back into basketball shape and get his rhythm back.
Without Garland in the lineup, Mitchell is the seventh-leading scorer in the NBA. He will no longer have to carry such a heavy offensive load with his backcourt teammate ready to go. Defensively, the Cavs should be better on the perimeter, as well. They can finally assess what this entire roster looks like.
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