Cavs rookie Darius Garland was limited at practice for much of last week due to a foot ailment. Despite this fact, head coach John Beilein is expecting his No. 5 overall pick to play in Monday’s preseason opener against San Lorenzo de Almagro.
Garland took part in his first live scrimmage with the Cavs on Saturday. With no ill-effects from on-court contact, he was then cleared to participate fully in Sunday’s practice, which included another 5-on-5 run.
“It was really good just to get him out there playing again, he looked very comfortable,” Beilein said via cleveland.com, referring to Garland. “He’s a smart kid, he’s picked up things really well.”
Cleveland’s selection of Garland in this year’s draft came as a bit of a surprise to some, as the team had just selected a point guard (Collin Sexton) in last year’s draft.
If anyone can make a dual point guard lineup work, it’s Beilein. The legendary collegiate play caller has already noted that he plans to utilize Garland and Sexton on the floor at the same time.
“It is truly a two-guard front,” Beilein told WKYC in Cleveland, referring to his offensive system. “It opens the floor so much for everyone because you can put people in the corners. The court’s open and it really allows the guards to have so much more freedom.”
“That’s the traditional way it is, whether it was back at Michigan, Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway back there or Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton, it was just sort of this open court that really allowed them to have a lot of freedom.”
Monday’s preseason matchup between the Cavs and San Lorenzo de Almagro is scheduled to tip inside Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse at 6:00 p.m. ET, with Sports Time Ohio having live broadcast coverage.