2 min read • February 09, 2022
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The Cavaliers may be without all-star guard Darius Garland on Wednesday against the Spurs with a lower back strain that has ailed him since Jan. 26.
The 22-year-old is listed as questionable in what would be his 5th consecutive missed game since suffering the injury midway through the 3rd quarter on a missed transition layup.
Garland twisted and jarred his back during the process of the layup, causing muscle spasms. He later returned to the game, and played in Cleveland's next game 4 days later, but has not played since.
Thankfully, our team of ProBasketballDocs say the injury appears to be muscular and not involving a nerve or radicular (radiating from your back down your legs), and can be managed with modalities such as physical therapy and heat therapy.
While the muscle issue will likely linger, complicating the recovery process and possibly limiting him when he does return, the ailment is not serious and our ProBasketballDocs don't see surgery as a risk.
The 33-21 Cavaliers, sitting at 4th in the East, recalled reserve guard Brandon Goodwin down to their G-League team on Tuesday, signalling a potential return for Garland tomorrow night.
The most recent injury appears to be an aggravation from a strain Garland suffered 2-and-half weeks prior late in the Jan. 9 loss to the Warriors.
The first-time all-star injured his back on a nearly identical play, contorting his body on a layup attempt and grabbing for his back upon landing.
He would play the next night against the Kings and in each of the next 10 games, averaging 20.3 points and 11.3 assists on 45.7/30.8/92 shooting clips and helping the Cavs to an 8-2 record in that span.
Garland has impressed in a tumultuous season for the Cleveland backcourt, losing Collin Sexton to a torn meniscus in November and Ricky Rubio a torn ACL in January. Veterans Rajon Rondo and Kevin Love have picked up the playmaking slack in his absence.
The Cavaliers are 3-1 without Garland this month, but have averaged only 99.75 points, nearly 7 below their season average of 106.5.
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