Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland will not be available for Wednesday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans with a groin injury. This is on the heels of his worst game of the season against the Boston Celtics. According to head coach Kenny Atkinson, this isn’t a long-term concern.
“He’s run the 10th most miles in the league,” Atkinson said before Wednesday’s game. “We’ve ran him hard to spectacular results.”
Garland has produced spectacular results the Boston game notwithstanding. He’s averaging 20.6 points and seven assists on .492/.430/.935 shooting splits which has produced a career-high 58.4 effective field goal percentage (91st percentile).
“It’s more precautionary,” Atkinson said of the injury. “He took a bad fall last night. [Keeping him out tonight was a] collaborative decision. We all got together including Darius. So yeah, he’ll sit this one out.”
The number of players on the Cavs injury report isn’t too surprising considering they’ve played 17 games in 29 days. It’s been one of the most grueling stretches in the NBA this season for any team. Wednesday’s matchup is the end of that run. They will have consecutive days off for the first time this season when they have three days between their matchup with the Pelicans and the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
“We’re all tired because we’re all doing this job,” Atkinson said. “I just don’t know how they do it. Seventeen games in 29 days. Like, the league is playing faster. … So it’s just amazing. It just speaks to the athletes that we have.”
