Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland will be unavailable for Game 3 vs. Miami due to his left great toe sprain, the team announced in its last injury report prior to Saturday afternoon’s tip-off.
Garland was affected by the toe issue earlier this month, missing two of Cleveland’s final three regular season games as a result of the injury. According to Jared Weis of The Athletic (Twitter link), the 25-year-old aggravated the injury during Game 2 on Wednesday and wasn’t able to take part in a pregame warm-up on Saturday after initially being listed as questionable.
The hope, a team source tells Weiss, is that sitting out today will allow Garland to heal up and return on Monday for Game 4 in Miami.
Garland’s absence comes on the heels of an eventful media cycle involving him and Heat guard Tyler Herro. Following Wednesday’s Cavs victory, Garland told reporters that “pick on Herro” was a central facet of the team’s offensive game plan, prompting Herro to fire back two days later to criticize Garland’s defense.
Heat big man Bam Adebayo told the media that Herro’s teammates took Garland’s comments “personal,” adding that the Cavs guard “cannot hide,” but Miami won’t get the opportunity to go after him on the court for at least a couple more days.
Sharpshooter Sam Merrill will start in Garland’s place, Weiss notes.