Cavs’ Darius Garland Expected to Remain Out vs. Magic

As relayed by Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said he does not expect Garland to play against Orlando, as Garland continues to recover from a lacerated left eye, suffered in the first half of the season opener.

The Cavs and Garland have been targeting Friday’s road game against the Celtics for Garland to return, sources told Hoops Wire, though even that remains iffy.

Garland has been out since, with the eye having swollen shut. Bickerstaff said Sunday that Garland can see out of the eye — but it has to be forced open first.

“He’s doing better,” Bickerstaff said on Sunday. “Just waiting until the swelling goes down. When you hold his eye open, he can see — so that’s obviously a good thing. It’s just going to take time. We’ll wait and see how the swelling responds.”

Garland was on the sideline in sunglasses, often cheering on his teammates, during Sunday’s win over the Wizards. He also tightly embraced fellow Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell following the victory.

Garland, 22, is coming off a season in which he averaged career-highs of 21.7 points and 8.6 assists in making his first All-Star team.

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