Why Darius Garland’s Newest Injury Should Concern Cleveland Cavaliers

Darius Garland, Cleveland's beloved playmaking point guard, cannot stay healthy.

The two-time All-Star has yet again found himself dealing with the injury bug. Following the Cavaliers' victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, Jan. 14, Garland underwent evaluation and imaging at the Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine on his right great toe. He will be re-evaluated early this week, with the hope that he can return to action in due time.

However, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, just a week removed from the injury, there's no sign that he's going to be back on the hardwood anytime soon. Nationally recognized ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst spoke on ESPN Cleveland that the injury isn't looking good.

"I'm actually very concerned about Darius Garland's right toe now, before it was the left toe," Windhorst said. "And I know they've said 7-10 days, but he will be out longer because he will be re-evaluated before being back.

"You know how toe sprains are, they bother you for a long time."

He's currently averaging 18.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 6.9 assists on shooting splits of 45.1% from the field and 36.0% from beyond the arc. He's played in just 26 of the team's 44 games.

Fortunately, as Windhorst mentioned, this is not the toe he injured last season. That injury required surgery over the summer that led to him getting a very slow start to the 2025-26 campaign. He actually did injure that one again earlier this year, but did recover fairly fast.

But while that is a good sign that it's the non-lingering toe issue, with it being a new one, it presents a unique recovery for Garland.

Instead of putting his weight onto the other foot, which is going to reaggravate that injury again, he's now going to have to just stay off his feet. At the moment, he's got no healthy feet.

The expectation is that the Cavaliers' coaching and medical staff is going to be very, very safe with Garland. Last season, he rushed back for the NBA playoffs and ultimately ended up making his injury worse, holding him out for critical games against the Indiana Pacers with the Eastern Conference semi-finals on the line.

If he is re-evaluated in the coming days, there's still a belief, like Windhorst mentioned, that he's looking at a longer window of inactivity.

With the season over halfway through, missing your star guard is going to be incredibly taxing to the rest of the roster. The coaching staff is going to have to lean into superstar Donovan Mitchell, youngsters Jaylon Tyson and Tyrese Proctor and hopefully, veteran Lonzo Ball. None of them, outside of Mitchell, are going to be able to replicate the productivity that Garland brings to the court, but it would be nice to see Tyson and Proctor take on his playmaking and defensive efficiency.

At this point, Cleveland may be better off shutting down Garland for a month or longer, letting both feet get back to full strength. In the meantime, they can give the best amounts of minutes possible to Tyson, Proctor, Ball and the rest, to get them ready for a late-season playoff push.

Through the final days of January, the Cavaliers are looking at a few tough matchups, especially without Garland in the lineup. They'll take on the Charlotte Hornets, the Sacramento Kings, the Orlando Magic twice, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns.

First, the Cavaliers and Hornets will clash on Wednesday, Jan. 21, with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. EST.