INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Cleveland Cavaliers won the last two games in their first-round sweep of the Miami Heat without All-Star guard Darius Garland, who has been recovering from a toe injury he sustained in Game 2 against the Heat. Now, entering Game 1 of their second-round series with the Indiana Pacers, the Cavs may be without Garland once again.
Garland sustained the big toe injury in the fourth quarter of Game 2 against Miami and has been sidelined since. He's been rehabbing and working to return to the court and has made progress.
Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson outlined Garland's activity this week. On Thursday, Garland participated in a non-contact practice, getting shots up and moving around the court with coaches. On Friday, Garland was able to participate in a full-contact practice. After a high-intensity day, Garland was held out of practice Saturday to rest and see how he responded to Friday's practice session.
"Had a high day yesterday, so just didn't want to load it again second day. I think he was going to touch it up, shoot a little, but no, didn't want to kind of double load it, if that makes sense," Atkinson said. "I think it's day to day. I think it’s, 'Try it.' We're just in this area where you just got to kind of see day-to-day, see how he feels. See how he feels tomorrow, tomorrow morning."
The Cavs will see how Garland feels Sunday morning before making a decision on his status for Game 1, which tips off at 6 p.m. Sunday evening inside Rocket Arena.
With or without Garland for Sunday's series opener, the Cavs have options and are sorting through the plan.
"First, we're going to find out the DG situation tomorrow and then we'll kind of pivot from there. You can imagine the options. We have multiple options. I'd just say different matchup, different [circumstances]. When you look at their starters, what fits best on both sides of the ball, not just the defensive side, offensively," Atkinson said.
Having a number of options is a nod to the depth of the team. That's something they've leaned on all year long and will continue doing in the postseason. And going against the Pacers, a team that also tends to go 10 or more deep like the Cavs, it will be a pivotal part of the strategy.
"You feel a little bit more comfortable, right? If we have someone out and we've seen what the 11th guy looks like, we know what the 11th — we've had game, we have game experience with that. So yes, it makes you feel more comfortable. I think too, just to that point, Rick, they also play 10, right? They have depth too, so they can match our depth a little bit. So that's an interesting take on this series because they're so high-paced. They have to play more guys. They can't play seven guys, they can't play like that and play seven guys. So they trust their depth, we trust our depth. It's going to be who can do it for longer, more efficiently," Atkinson said.
As for the players, they're confident in their depth in any scenario, as they have been all season long.
"We've been doing that all year. Other guys have stepped up. We've had 18 guys play for us this season that have all contributed to winning in any aspect. I think everybody on this team understands the importance of winning and understands the importance of playing your role and not having an ego about it. And I think we've been doing that all season, so it's not too much of an adjustment to do it now," said swingman Max Strus. "Guys know that it might not be their night tonight, it might not be this series, but, as you can see, we have a lot of guys that understand how to work and the importance of it. They're always going to be ready when their number's called."
And while they hope to have Garland available, they plan to be ready for the Pacers one way or the other.
"He's a great player. He's an All-Star. Our depth is important if he plays, our depth is important if he doesn't play. Obviously we hope he's available and if he's not we'll be ready," said guard Ty Jerome.
