Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland will return to the team’s lineup on Wednesday vs. the Celtics, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Garland has been on the shelf since being inadvertently poked in the eye by Gary Trent Jr. in Cleveland’s first game of the regular season on October 19 in Toronto. The All-Star guard left that game early due to a lacerated left eyelid and has spent the last two weeks recovering.
Even without Garland, the new-look Cavaliers have looked terrific in the early going this season. They lost that opener vs. the Raptors by just three points, but haven’t dropped another game. Cleveland has a 5-1 record and sits second in the East.
With Garland and Ricky Rubio (ACL recovery) sidelined, Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert have been the Cavaliers’ primary ball-handlers, with Raul Neto also averaging about 10 minutes per game as a backup point guard. Mitchell and LeVert will likely play off the ball a little more starting on Wednesday — it’s unclear whether or not Neto (who didn’t enter the opener until after Garland went down) will remain in the regular rotation.
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