Darius Garland Out For Cavs' Preseason Finale In Indiana
The Cleveland Cavaliers are wrapping their preseason finale up Friday in Indiana without another key member of the starting five. Darius Garland was ruled out before tip-off, joining Jarrett Allen on the inactive list.
According to Cleveland.com, Garland is "dealing with something minor, but there's no concern about his availability moving forward."
Oct 12, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) controls the ball during the first half against the Orlando Magic at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Garland is going to be a pivotal piece in what the Cavs are hoping to accomplish this season. Hopefully this is simply precautionary for the team's sake. The All-Star point guard is coming off a season where he averaged 21.6 points and 7.8 assists per contest, shooting 41 percent from long distance.
This news also throws a small wrench into Cleveland's plans to utilize the last game of the preseason as a dress rehearsal, with the starters likely to play three quarters before handing it off to the reserves.
Although on Thursday, Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff did hint that all may not have gone to the original plan anyway.
"We will see how some things kind of shake out tonight and tomorrow morning and then we will go from there," Bickerstaff shared.
“Things can go really right and if we are doing things the right way and things look good and guys' winds feel the right way then we can move on from that also. I don’t like to discuss it but if the worst happens we always have room to adjust."
The Cavs starting five on Friday consisted of Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Max Strus, Dean Wade and Evan Mobley.
