Darius Garland shows out in return for Cavs in win over Celtics on WED

The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t had Darius Garland much this season thus far, as he suffered an eye laceration in Cleveland’s season opener at the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 19. In that one, Garland didn’t have a quality game going yet, as he was way off in that first half then, before the injury was sustained prior to halftime in that loss to Toronto.

Fortunately, without Garland in the lineup, the Cavaliers did find ways to win in their ensuing games. Heading into Wednesday night’s game versus the Boston Celtics, the Cavs had won five straight contests following that loss to the Raptors.

The Cavaliers have gotten dynamite play from Donovan Mitchell, who has been phenomenal following his offseason trade acquisition, and guys such as Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Cleveland’s bench have often come up big. The Cavaliers are still going to have to iron some things out in games to come, and there’s going to be some learning experiences for the team to undergo.

But, even with the Cavaliers’ success prior to that last game versus Boston, it was nice to see Garland back out there for the Wine and Gold. Sure, it’s going to take some time for him to establish more meaningful chemistry with Mitchell, and others playing off that duo will have to adjust again from here in time.

That being said, there was plenty to like about Garland’s first game back on Wednesday in another overtime win against the Celtics, and with his shot-making and playmaking in mind, it was quite the performance.

Garland showed out in his return for the Cavs in Wednesday’s win over the Celtics.

In a very entertaining contest with runs from both sides, resulting in an overtime win for the Cavs once again versus the C’s, Garland’s play definitely jumped out.

In his return for the Cavaliers, he had 29 points on nine-of-20 shooting, to go with 12 assists. Now, plenty of his production came early, with him having 14 points in the first quarter. He was getting to his spots, and the shot-making followed suit after that.

From there, Garland still did have some impressive scoring moments in the rest of the contest, just not as much as in that stretch. Generally, though, it was nice to see how he could propel the team with his skill set in some sequences, and his playmaking abilities were on display in this one as well.

Garland’s interior feeds to Jarrett Allen were there, as were his extra passes to shooters and/or interior threats, which are plays that can be infectious for the team overall. To that point, Donovan Mitchell made a terrific feed to Dean Wade in the first half, resulting in an And-1 opportunitiy.

Circling back to the case with Garland, however, while it’s going to still take some time for him and Mitchell to mesh, their connections at times in mid-clock situations can help open up quality offense. And the presence of both in early offense can really ignite this Wine and Gold team.

In transition, Garland’s lob to Mitchell in overtime was electric, and this is something I’d imagine we’ll see more of in games to come going forward.

Also, a bit earlier on that front, Garland’s lob feed to Evan Mobley down the stretch of regulation was another play that the Wine and Gold faithful fired up, and rightfully so.

Those are the kinds of plays that Garland’s vision, timing and creativity open up for this Cavaliers offense throughout games. And it’s that sort of skill set, mixed in with his scoring, that adds a whole different layer to Cleveland’s team when he’s in.

It was good he was back in there for the Cavaliers, as Garland is this team’s primary offensive engine as its lead guard for the majority of games, and he expressed how much it meant to be out on the floor postgame in media availability. Garland even stated how, initially, he thought following the eye injury, that he’d need surgery and expected to be out for “a couple months,” via Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com.

Granted, looking onward, it’s paramount he and the team manage that, and admittedly, it’s understandable to still have concern. In a further report, Davies noted how, regarding Garland’s eye, “a source close to the team even told Basketball News that it’s still only at 75-80%.”

That’s something to keep monitoring in upcoming games, clearly.

But, on the plus side, even though Garland uncharacteristically missed a free throw near the end of regulation, which could’ve potentially prevented overtime, he didn’t look deterred in his time out there and it’s not as if the production wasn’t there. I think he’ll look more comfortable for elongated stretches as he works his way back into the fold, and his chemistry with Mitchell, and with others around them, in the same light, should improve.

All in all, it was a hell of a performance from Garland on the big, national stage in his first game back for the surging Cavs.