UPDATE: Darius Garland has been ruled out for the Game 1 matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers today with his toe injury. Garland did not warm up at his typical time, and Sam Merrill has been upgraded to the starting lineup. There is some legitimate concern with Garland’s outlook moving forward, and his status will be one to monitor for the remainder of the series.
All-Star guard Darius Garland is questionable for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals tomorrow against the Indiana Pacers, per team’s injury report. Kenny Atkinson provided a detailed explanation of the injury.
This has been an elusive injury to manage. Garland was on fire for the first two games of their first-round series. He scored 24 points per game on 52/41/90 shooting splits, then sat out both road games as the Cavaliers swept the Miami Heat. There was speculation that this was a precaution by Cleveland as the Heat weren’t a major threat, but it appears this is more than an abundance of caution.
As Atkinson said, Garland will be re-evaluated in the morning before shoot-around. If he can’t go, Sam Merrill will likely start in his place, as he did for the last two games against Miami. We will provide further updates as they come along.
