What To Expect From Darius Garland In Return To Cavs From Injury

Darius Garland will return to Cleveland's lineup after missing the first few weeks of the season with an eye injury.

Author:
Tommy Wild
Nov 2, 2022 6:19 PM EDT

In this story:

Finally!

After being sidelined with a gruesome eye injury that took place during the Cavs season opener on October 19, Darius Garland will make his return to the Cavs lineup against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

This is what fans can expect to see from the All-Star point guard.

Shooting Starts Off Slow

I hope I'm wrong, I truly do. However, I do think Garland may struggle from the field tonight. Not that this will be any indication of how he will perform all season but the man is coming back from having the inside of his eyelid cut open. That sounds incredibly painful and uncomfortable.

No one should be disheartened if it took him a little time to get his shot and rhythm back.

I hope I'm wrong and Garland comes out and drops 30-plus points tonight!

EDIT: After the first five minutes of this game I will admit it, I was wrong. Garland is on fire and has three threes in the first five minutes of the game. Go Cavs!

Cavs Assist Leader

I think that this will be where Garland shines most of the night. DG has always been an incredible facilitator and his 8.6 assists a game last season is proof of that. In the first half against the Raptors, before Garland left the game, he dropped three assists too.

This offensive has been red hot, especially from three, to open the year. Garland will do everything he can to take advantage of this and continue to find the open man whether that be Donovan Mitchell, Kevin Love, Dean Wade, Cedi Osman, or Caris LeVert.

I also think we'll see a big alley-oop to either Evan Mobley or Jarrett Allen.

Mitchell Moves Back To The SG

Donovan Mitchell has taken on the role of the primary ball handler in Garland's absence. He's done an incredible job at it, but I do think his transition back to the true shooting guard spot will be a welcome change.

Whatever we see from Garland tonight, I'm so happy he's back on the floor. He isn't expected to wear any sort of goggles or mask while he's playing, but coach Bickerstaff said he'll play in shorter stints.

It's great to have DG back!

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