How Soon Will Darius Garland Be Back For The Cavs?
In this story:
It's been a long time since the the Cleveland Cavaliers were at full strength. 45 days to be exact, when new broke that both Evan Mobley and Darius Garland would both be absent for an extended period of time due to injury.
For Mobley, it was a knee. For Garland, a fractured jaw, which left him with his mouth wired shut for a month. At the time it felt like a death knell to a once promising season for the Wine and Gold. Instead, Cleveland has gone on to post an NBA best 14-4 record since then and finds itself as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference at the moment.
Suddenly reinforcements are on the way with Mobley back in the rotation against the Clippers on Monday night. Prior to the game head coach J.B. Bickerstaff made it clear there will be an easing in of sorts for the third-year player, in the 20-24 minute range. The fact that he's beating Garland back to the floor is actually a bit of a shock, as Mobley shortened an eight week recovery period to six.
"In the very beginning he found the silver lining in it and I think that helped him recover more quickly," Bickerstaff said. "Everything he did was extremely purposeful and with a positive attitude, that I believe impacted how quickly he was able to get back to where he is now, because of the work he put in and because of his mindset."
Mobley's return is a major step toward the Cavaliers getting their entire core back together. The last remaining piece is Garland, who isn't too far behind.
"Darius is extremely close," Bickerstaff said. Asked to define "close," Bickerstaff reiterated his previous statement. "He's extremely close."
Sounds like the full strength Cavs are nearly here, which could prove to be a scary prospect for the rest of the Eastern Conference.
