Cavs could be without star guard for Game 3

Darius Garland’s toe could keep him on the sidelines on Saturday.

The Cleveland Cavaliers may be without their All-Star point guard on Saturday afternoon. Darius Garland was added to the injury report on Friday ahead of Game 3 against the Miami Heat. He is officially listed as questionable with a left great toe sprain.

Garland has been on the injury report before with a toe strain. This was his injury designation when he was held out of two regular-season games against the Indiana Pacers on April 10 and April 13.

Garland has had a nice bounce-back this postseason compared to last year. He’s averaging 24 points on .516/.412./900 shooting splits to go along with seven assists per outing in the two playoff games he’s played thus far. Unsurprisingly, this has led to the Cavs playing incredibly well this series with Garland on the floor (+11.9 net rating).

We’ll see how head coach Kenny Atkinson will handle the starting lineup if Garland is unable to go. Based on the regular season, it seems likely that Sam Merrill or Isaac Okoro could take his place. Additionally, Ty Jerome would likely see his minutes increase as the Cavs will need all the ball-handling help they can get if Garland can’t play.

The Cavs are in the driver’s seat with a 2-0 series lead. It would be surprising to see them lose four out of the next five to a Heat team they have considerably more talent than even without Garland. However, they likely won’t be able to get past opponents like the Boston Celtics later in the playoffs if Garland isn’t at 100%.

Making sure that Garland is healthy for the remainder of the postseason run should be Cleveland’s top priority.

Garland is the only Cavalier on the injury report. The Heat will be without Kevin Love (personal) and Terry Rozier (ankle).