Cleveland Cavaliers Star Gets Personal on Massive Turnaround

The Cleveland Cavaliers have enjoyed a phenomenal season as a group this season, boasting the best record in the NBA with the playoffs just around the corner.

But perhaps no player on the Cavaliers' roster has enjoyed a bigger, more satisfying turnaround than Darius Garland.

Last year, Garland was limited to just 57 games due to a broken jaw injury that severely inhibited his food intake and resulted in the point guard struggling with his weight.

As a result, Garland had a rather pedestrian campaign, and it led to many questioning if Cleveland could trade him over the summer.

Well, the Cavs opted to hold onto Garland, and it has paid off, as the 25-year-old just made his second career All-Star appearance.

Garland spoke about his resurgence recently, and he was beaming when discussing how far he has come.

“This is a totally different year. It's crazy what a total year can do and the entire 180 that has happened. It's truly an honor,” Garland said, via Jeff Zilgitt of USA Today. “It's a blessing that I can do something I love and have one of my senses back."

Garland is averaging 21 points and six assists over 30.3 minutes per game on 48.1/41.9/87.0 shooting splits this season in what has probably been the best year of his NBA tenure.

It's not hard to see why the Vanderbilt product has been so much more effective this season.

“I rushed back last year trying to get back on the floor with the guys and that's when I was down almost 20 pounds in the second round of the playoffs trying to play against the [eventual] NBA champions," Garland added. "That's how eager I was. But now I'm fully healthy, had a full summer just to recover and get my weight back up and just work on my craft. It's a big difference.”

We'll see if Garland's success can result in a sustained playoff run for the Cavaliers, and potentially hanging another banner in Cleveland.

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