Darius Garland injury hurts Cleveland Cavaliers in NBA power rankings

The Cleveland Cavaliers are 9-5 through the first 14 games of the season, but there is room for improvement.

The team hasn't played its best basketball yet, partially because Darius Garland has only played in three games for the Cavs. That prompted NBA.com writer John Schuhmann to put the Cavs at No. 6 in his latest power rankings, one spot lower than the previous week.

"In just his third game of the season, Darius Garland reinjured the same toe that he had surgery on in the summer. He’s not expected to be out long and the Cavs remain in the top four in the East, but they still haven’t found their stride," Schuhmann wrote.

"The Cavs have four games remaining on their longest homestand of the season (six games over 11 days) and will host the Bucks for the second time on Monday. They had 11 more shooting opportunities than Milwaukee when they won the first meeting by five."

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland celebrates his three-point shot in the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers | David Richard-Imagn Images

Garland injury hurts Cavs in power rankings

The Cavaliers are sitting behind the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder in Schuhmann's power rankings.

Garland's injury has forced the Cavs to alter their rotation a bit. Players have had to step into larger roles, including All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who is stepping up to the plate in a big way for the Cavs.

"With Garland having played in just three games, Mitchell is averaging 33.9 minutes per game. That’s not a huge number, but it is 2.5 more mpg than he averaged last season (31.4). The Cavs have been 18.1 points per 100 possessions better with Mitchell on the floor (plus-11.5 per 100) than they’ve been with him off the floor (minus-6.6 per 100)," Schuhmann wrote.

Luckily for the Cavs, they have plenty of time to clean things up as they try to make progress during the season. They want Garland to be healthy for the latter half of the year so he can show up when it counts in the playoffs.

In the meantime, the Cavs are back in action this week against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets, Pascal Siakam and the Indiana Pacers and James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers. All four of these games are inside Rocket Arena, so the Cavs have a chance to move up the power rankings with some wins at home.