The Cleveland Cavaliers held a preseason press conference today for Kenny Atkinson and Koby Altman. A key moment from their availability was an update on Darius Garland’s injury.
The All-Star point guard was limited during last season’s playoffs and is set to miss the start of the 2025-26 season with his injury. As painful as that is, Altman and Atkinson don’t believe this has slowed him down at all. In fact, it might lead to a better version of Garland.
“So I think it’s gonna sound counterintuitive,
because he was hurt, but he had a really good off-season,” said Altman. “Only because he focused on the things that we’ve been talking about for a long time with him, which is weight room, strength, and because he couldn’t touch a basketball for a month, he had to just lift and so he’s stronger.”
Working back from a toe injury has changed Garland’s offseason. He wasn’t able to play as much basketball, instead focusing more on strength training. This could pay dividends as Garland enters into the next phase of his career.
“I think this injury might be a blessing in disguise,” said Atkinson. “I keep talking about the Steph [Curry] evolution. And how Steph just got stronger and stronger, and kept improving his body… [Darius] has really paid attention to the strength part, so that’s his next step.”
Garland averaged 20.6 points and 6.7 assists on a career-best efficiency last season. He made strides as a leader and was closing games with poise during the regular season. His importance as Cleveland’s floor general can’t be overstated.
“He’s continued to grow and mature,” said Altman. “He’s ready, I think he’s ready to have real playoff success. And he was on his way to doing that before the toe.”
As for when Garland will make his debut, Altman was unable to share a definitive timeline.
“He’s back on the court now. He’s doing basketball activities now, the toe looks good, he feels good, and we’re certainly not gonna put a timetable on it,” said Altman. “But he’s gonna start to participate the limited team activities in training camp, very limited.”
