INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — There is optimism that all three of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ injured star players, including All-Star guard Darius Garland, who has missed the last four games, will try to play Game 3 Friday against the Indiana Pacers, two league sources told The Athletic.
“I don’t think he has a choice,” one league source who is close to the Cavs said of Garland, who hasn’t played since Game 2 of the first round.
Cleveland, the No. 1 seed in the East, trails 0-2 in this series after suffering a crushing 120-119 loss at home Tuesday in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Garland (sprained big toe), NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley (sprained ankle) and De’Andre Hunter (sprained thumb) all missed the game after being listed “questionable” with their ailments.
The Cavs held a walk-through Thursday before leaving for Indianapolis, and coach Kenny Atkinson said all three players “touched the ball” during the workout — which means they were all participants. All will still be listed “questionable” on the team’s injury report ahead of Game 3.
“They participated in the walk-through and we’re hoping for the best,” Atkinson said. “I think it’s frustrating for all of us, right? It’s no indictment on anybody, it’s just, injuries are a tough thing and you don’t really know unless you experience it yourself.”
Trying to play and being able to play effectively are not one and the same. A league source with knowledge of the Cavs’ workout Thursday said the swelling on Hunter’s injured thumb has subsided, whereas Mobley and Garland were moving as though they’re trying to play through lower leg injuries.
Hunter suffered his injury falling out of the sky on a dunk attempt in the fourth quarter of Game 1. Mobley, like Hunter, was hurt in the fourth quarter of that game on a play in which Cleveland demanded a foul call and didn’t get it. Garland re-aggravated an old injury at the end of the second game of a four-game sweep of the Heat.
The Cleveland fan base is indeed frustrated by the players’ absences because of similar circumstances that have plagued this team (and its fans) the last two years. Local radio talk shows were inundated with calls this week, and the Cavs’ players were criticized by national TV commentators for sitting out while being listed as “questionable” on the injury report.
This is the second consecutive postseason in which a key player has missed multiple playoff games for weeks while being considered “questionable.” Jarrett Allen missed eight in a row last postseason with a painful rib injury that was described only as a “bruise” on those injury reports. Allen was eventually criticized by teammates and coaches who thought he could do more to play.
League sources said, and Atkinson confirmed, that all three of the Cavs, Garland included, “desperately” want to play. Not putting words in the coach’s mouth, because he didn’t say this part, but if the players are hungry to be on the court during these crucial games but are not even in uniform, they may be hurt worse than a “questionable” designation suggests.
It is a team’s right to engage in such gamesmanship with the injury report, perhaps in an attempt to keep the opponent guessing, but the Cavs’ record over the last two conference semifinals is 1-6. Teams can also be immediately clear with a player’s designation. For instance, ahead of Game 2 of a Western Conference semifinal between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves, the Warriors listed Stephen Curry as “out” with a hamstring strain, and Gary Payton II as “available” with an illness. The Timberwolves said Robert Dillingham was “out” with an ankle sprain.
Additionally, Curry spoke to reporters Thursday, even though he is out, and explained his injury status (and how he’s feeling about it) to fans. Players are not required to speak to the media if they are out with injuries; Cleveland fans have not heard from Garland in more than two weeks.
On Thursday, Atkinson suggested Garland’s absence was a matter of pain tolerance, though the player also consults with the team’s medical staff when making his determination.
“He’s got to figure it out and I support him 100 percent, whichever way it goes,” Atkinson said of Garland, though what he said could easily describe how he feels about Hunter and Mobley, too. “He’s probably thinking, ‘I gotta get to a certain point where I can compete at a high intensity, playoff level. That’s the hard thing for us … we really can’t simulate that (at practice).
“You have to talk with the trainers, you have to talk to the doctor, and then only you can make the call,” Atkinson continued. “That’s kind of where (Garland) is.”
Atkinson also said that Donovan Mitchell, who confirmed he played through a calf strain in Game 2 (and scored 48 points), would not be on the Cavs’ injury report for Game 3.
Cleveland is the eighth team in NBA history to open a regular season with at least 12 consecutive wins. Five of the first seven teams to do that reached the NBA Finals in that season.
The Cavs have some work to do to make it six out of eight, and they are also trying to become the sixth team in league history to lose the first two games of a playoff series at home and go on to win the series. The defending champion Boston Celtics are in the same boat, trailing the Knicks 0-2 in the other Eastern semifinal.
There is, of course, no correlation between what happens in the Celtics’ series with the outcome of the Cavs-Pacers series. Cleveland getting its players back, however, just might have an impact.
(Top photo of Kenny Atkinson: Jason Miller / Getty Images)
