Darius Garland reflects on overcoming injuries, path back to the court

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland missed 25 games last NBA season due to injuries. Most notably a broken jaw injury he sustained in December against the Boston Celtics following a collision with Kristaps Porzingis.

Garland’s broken jaw sidelined him for 19 games, a unique injury that Garland reflected on during Cleveland’s Summer League matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks in Las Vegas on Sunday.

“It was really tough last year, just going through all the injuries like you said. Just some adversity that we all have to go through,” Garland said. “But it was definitely tough drinking smoothies for a month and a half, blending all types of foods, and trying to get some nutrients. Always some adversity, but it’s always good.”

Garland’s broken jaw needed to be wired shut, which limited his diet to strictly liquids and resulted in him losing 12 pounds. A particularly unfortunate side effect for a player like Garland whose size already is not his calling card at 6-foot-1, 192 pounds.

Thankfully it was business as usual for Garland when he returned to the floor on January 31, posting 19 points in a win over the Detroit Pistons. As he also revealed what his first meal was when he did return to eating solid foods that he’ll likely remember forever.

“Got some Chick-fil-A,” Garland laughed and said. “Had a little chicken sandwich and some fries just to get myself back going and it was one of my best meals I’ve ever had in a long time actually.”

Garland averaged 15.7 points and a team-leading 5.8 assists per game this year in his fifth season in the league. Drafted by the Cavs with the No. 5 overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft after spending one season at Vanderbilt.

Cleveland fell to the NBA Champion Boston Celtics in a 4-1 Eastern Conference Semifinal series, the furthest that the organization has made it in the playoffs since LeBron James led the Cavaliers to the 2019 NBA Finals. A series that was highlighted by Boston’s dominance and Cleveland’s injuries.

“If we stayed healthy I think it was gonna be a really good series,” Garland said. “Of course Don [Donovan Mitchell] went down, of course Jarrett Allen went down in the first round, so that kind of hurt us a little bit. But we just got to come back again next year hopefully fully healthy, ready to go, and ready to compete.”

Mitchell missed 27 games last season with injury and Evan Mobley missed 32. As Cleveland will look to have a healthier season next year with their same core and a new head coach with Kenny Atkinson now leading the team.