UPDATE: Garland has been ruled out for Game 3.
While Darius Garland had been making headlines the past 48 hours for his postgame comments about Tyler Herro and his lack of defense, the more important news for Saturday’s Game 3 is the health of the point guard. After logging 31.7 minutes in Wednesday’s victory, Garland has been listed as questionable due to a left toe sprain.
Because it’s the playoffs, I would assume that Garland is still leaning towards being active, though with a 2-0 series lead, there’s a chance that the Cavaliers decide to play things extra safe with their former lottery pick. In Game 2, Garland scored 21 points and dished out a team-high nine assists, all while handling a 27.7% usage rate that was second to only Donovan Mitchell.
Mitchell also led Cleveland throughout the regular season with a 30.6% usage rate with Garland off the floor. Meanwhile, Evan Mobley registered 1.46 FPTS per minute in these situations and Ty Jerome produced 1.13 FPTS per minute. Jerome would be a candidate to start in place of Garland, though the Cavaliers often went with Dean Wade as a replacement throughout the year.
