On Sunday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers were without Darius Garland when they took on the Memphis Grizzlies at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Garland missed just his third game of the season with a hip injury. But even with Garland’s absence, the Cavs were able to secure their 47th win of the season in 57 games with a 129-123 victory over the Grizzlies.
The good news is that the hip injury Garland is dealing with doesn’t appear to be anything serious. After their win over the Grizzlies, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said that Garland should be back active very soon and that his hip injury isn’t something that’s considered a long-term setback, as per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal.
“My amateur opinion is this is probably one [game without Garland]. It’s not going to be long term. I think I’d anticipate him being ready very, very soon. I’m not going to guarantee next game, but I’d say trending that way,” Atkinson said.
It did look like Garland was already playing with a bit of a knock when the Cavs demolished the New York Knicks back on Friday. He put up one his worst games of the season, a nine-point outing on 2-12 shooting from the field.
It’s not quite clear yet, however, when Garland will be returning even after the good news hinted at by the Cavs head coach. Even then, they can afford to be patient, especially when they have so much depth ready to cover in the event of an injury. On Sunday, it was Ty Jerome’s turn to step up, putting up 26 points off the bench to more than make up for the absence of the All-Star guard.
Cavs prioritize health heading into final two months of the season
David Richard-Imagn Images
In addition to giving Darius Garland the night off against the Grizzlies, the Cavs also held Jarrett Allen out of action after their starting center sustained a hand injury. Allen, as one would recall, missed the final few games of the playoffs for Cleveland last season due to a rib injury, so giving him time to recover is a must.
With the Cavs just looking to maintain their six-game lead atop the Eastern Conference standings, expect them to always err on the side of caution on the injury front from here until the end of the regular season. Garland and Allen may have to be put on bubble wrap just so they can be 100 percent when the postseason comes around.
