Darius Garland bites through pain to lead Cavs: ‘He’s looking outside of himself’

With two sloppy performances in the last three days, after what was described as a reset week consisting of multiple days of practice, The Cleveland Cavaliers are going through it right now. It shouldn’t take away Darius Garland’s willingness to grit his teeth and overcome obvious pain and discomfort in the big toe to be there for the Cavs during such a difficult stretch.

“I got paid a lot of money to do it, first of all. I love basketball,” Garland said after Cleveland’s 119-111 overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets. “I love being there with my teammates, enjoying their success.”

“It’s who he is and who he is to us,” added Donovan Mitchell. “We know he’s tough. We know he struggles through a lot. But for him to continue to put the team first, that’s what we need. I’m glad he had his best performance. He’s going to get better and better for us.”

As Mitchell relayed, it’s not about Garland’s season-high 26 points or his nine assists.

It’s that he played a team-high 39 minutes after rehabbing an already nagging and nagging injury that has held him back since returning from an aggravation in Miami on Nov. 10. It’s about the infectious nature of his offensive game going downhill and getting others involved. It’s that he challenged Brandon Miller the entire fourth quarter defensively and took a handoff to his chest that could have called the play an offensive foul.

“He broke through,” Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “He gets these jabs when he has a hard change of direction, a hard plant, and I thought he played through that tonight. I feel like he’s starting to find it a little bit — starting to pass, starting to get to the rim, starting to get into the paint a little bit more — so that’s a positive.”

Don’t forget the Garlands diversions and defensive activitiesincluding a block on Charlotte rookie Zion James’ 3-pointer that secured a shooting foul.

“I mean, it’s an All-Star,” Jaylon Tyson said. “That’s our point guard. That’s our guy. I’ll ride or die with him. I love him to death, and I appreciate everything he’s done for me and this team. We’re going to keep rocking with him.”

Understandably sick of being asked about the toe injury, Garland did not go into detail about what happened in the fourth quarter when he fell to the ground and grabbed his left leg after a sudden dribble. However, he said it was a toe, so it wasn’t a new injury.

“When you come back from an injury like this, there’s a mental part of it and there’s frustration,” Atkinson said before Sunday’s game. “My conversations with him (are): ‘Don’t let frustration sap your energy.’ His energy, personally, and then the energy of the team. This is completely normal; we’ve all been there. You miss three 3s in a row and you’re just like (sigh). No, you still have to get back on defense, your energy still has to be good.

“That’s for him, his emotional reactions, but for him to get over that hump, but also to help his teammates because he’s one of the leaders, he’s one of the best players on this team. So those are really the conversations. I’m not talking about the misses. ‘As you come back from this injury, keep your energy in a great place.’ That’s one of his jobs as a leader.”

Last week, Garland opened up about the internal battle he faces, including scheduling constraints and the physical aspect itself.

“It was a struggle,” Garland said last Thursday after practice. “Of course, not playing in the games I want to play and not playing back-to-back is bullshit. It was a doctor’s decision. It was a decision we all had to make in the summer when I had surgery, so I’m just trying to listen to the doctor, trying to be as healthy as possible for a time when we really need each other.”

Garland is here now, however, for wine and gold at the most critical time. It’s easy to lead when you’re winning, but keep that spirit going when Cleveland is in a seemingly endless funk is a necessity.

“I’m out there playing. I’m out there for my teammates, trying to win basketball games,” Garland said.

“He looks outside of himself,” added Atkinson, who saw him pick up the Cavs after a lackluster first half against the Hornets. “He engages his teammates. He talks to them. His positive spirit on the bench. I just loved his energy (Sunday). That’s what we need, and that’s kind of the question as he goes through this struggle to get back to being the general manager that we know.”

Desperate to engineer any kind of reinforcement, Garland is pleading with the Rocket Arena crowd to help pull the Cavs out of this rut.

“I know it’s not much to cheer about right now, but we need fans in it,” Garland said. “That drives us. So when the fans (aren’t) in it, the bench has to be in it. Larry (Nance Jr.) did a really good job, and Thomas (Bryant), on the bench (Sunday). They’re really doing everything they can to try to get some energy in the arena, standing up, screaming from the other side of the floor to find what we need. We’re really trying.

Cleveland has another slow week of games ahead, with the Chicago Bulls next up in a home series that begins in Chicago, so we’ll have to wait until Friday to see if Garland’s wish is granted.