Cleveland Cavaliers Recent Struggles Prove Darius Garland’s Importance

Darius Garland's absence has been missed.

After suffering another lower-body injury, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be without Garland for the foreseeable future. His absence has exposed Cleveland’s struggles with ball movement, proving just how important the two-time All-Star is to the organization.

On Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Cavaliers travelled to Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., defeating the Charlotte Hornets, 94-87. In Garland's place, the Cavaliers' coaching staff turned to Donovan Mitchell, Jaylon Tyson, Tyrese Proctor and Craig Porter Jr. to try and run the offense. While it was able to get the job done, the lack of Garland's playmaking was on full display.

They turned the ball over 20 times, allowing the Hornets to score 21 points off turnovers.

This isn't just a one-game spell either. Players not named Darius Garland are slinging passes out of play, losing their dribble, failing to move in transition and

This season, the Cavaliers are averaging a relatively high 14.6 turnovers per game, ranking 14th in the league. However, over the last three games with Garland missing, they've jolted up to second with 21 turnovers a game, a stat that shows just how important he was to the offense.

The team turned the ball over 21 times against the Oklahoma City Thunder and 18 times against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Cavs last three games:

- 20 turnovers vs CHA
- 21 turnovers vs OKC
- 18 turnovers vs PHI
— Tony Pesta (@Tony_Pesta) January 22, 2026

Garland's impact to Cavaliers

The 2025-26 season hasn't been kind to Garland. He's faced setbacks on a surgery he had over the summer, holding him out for the first few weeks of the year, and now, has been ruled out with an injury to his other foot.

While the so-called "core four" should be able to make it all work with one guy's absence, or even two, it's obvious Garland serves as the straw that stirs the drink. Even with the other three healthy and active, without him, the offense starts to blur. He's the one who makes the good happen, or the bad.

On average, he's scored 18.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists on shooting splits of 45.1% from the field and 36.0% from beyond the arc. He's also nearly tacking on a steal a game.

Following the Cavaliers' win over the Hornets on Wednesday, though, he's now missed his 19th game of the season, far and away the most amount of games missed by a player who's suited up for at least one game for the team this year. It's tough, too, considering head coach Kenny Atkinson said it would be a seven-to-10-day inactive timeline. That initial prognosis has seemingly grown into a multi-week shutdown.

When he's not on the court, Jarrett Allen's involvement in the offense trends downward, Mitchell starts to force more shots and Evan Mobley looks like he cannot read the spacing on the court. Cleveland, in general, just looks lost.

Now, someone's going to have to step up. Will it be the veteran Lonzo Ball, the youngsters Proctor or Tyson, or one of the core-four members breaking out to carry this team to success?

At this point, the Cavaliers' ceiling and championship aspirations hang in the balance of one thing: a healthy Darius Garland.

The Cavaliers will next be in action on Friday, Jan. 23, against the Sacramento Kings. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. EST from Rocket Arena.