Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland will make his season debut as early as Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Garland has been rehabbing a toe injury he had surgery on over the summer,
the same ailment that greatly hindered his playoff performance last season.
Support us and Let ‘Em Know with Homage!
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE. The link to the Donovan Mitchell NBA Jam shirt is HERE.
The Cavs are fairly depleted right now, weathering injuries to Jarrett Allen (fractured finger), Sam Merrill (hip), and Donovan Mitchell (hamstring). Max Strus (broken foot) has not appeared in a game either, and likely won’t until January at the earliest.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson said the team intends to see how Garland responds to a full practice, which he completed on Tuesday. “He’s done the build-up,” Atkinson told reporters after practice on Tuesday. “We feel good about his conditioning and where he is. I just think we need the green light. Once you get the green light, we are going to have to feel it out.”
Garland suffered an injury to his great toe at the end of last season, and it worsened in their first-round series against the Miami Heat. The team downplayed the injury, with Garland eventually returning to action against the Indiana Pacers. But Garland looked noticeably diminished as he attempted to play through a very painful injury. And, given the long recovery time, expect Garland to be on a minutes restriction once he does come back.
“It’s not going to be like he’s going to play 12 minutes,” Atkinson continued. “If he does play, is it going to be 32? No, but I think it’ll be a decent amount of minutes. Then I’ve got to read it. Just got to communicate with him and see where he is.”
If Garland does not return in Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, his next opportunity for his season debut would be Friday against the Washington Wizards.
