Darius

Garland

Garland had a shaky start to this game, turning the ball over five times in the first half, which contributed to the Clippers’ 16-point halftime deficit. He cleaned things up after the break, but that wasn’t enough to help the Clippers make a comeback. That ended their five-game winning streak, and they’ll look to get back on track against the Spurs on Thursday. Garland has been excellent recently and will look to stay hot in that one.

Garland’s 11 assists matched his high since joining the Clippers, with the point guard finishing Sunday’s victory with his third double-double. And after spraining his ankle during Friday’s win over the Pacers, Garland’s ability to play 27 minutes without issue was encouraging. The Clippers’ three-game Week 23 does not include a back-to-back, which should bode well for Garland’s availability.

Garland appeared to roll his left ankle during the second quarter of Friday’s game, heading back to the locker room just before halftime. He was back on the floor for the start of the third and showed no ill effects from the ankle sprain, shooting 7-of-11 from the field in the second half, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Garland did not offer any value beyond points, assists and three-pointers, but few will turn their noses up at a 30-point night.

After a low-scoring outing in the Clippers blowout win on Monday, Garland upped his overall production in Wednesday’s blowout victory. In 30 minutes, he tallied at least five made three-pointers for the fifth time in 11 games as a Clipper, and used that three-point production to score over 20 points for the seventh time since being traded to Los Angeles. The seventh-year guard has proven to be a good fit at the guard position for the Clippers in his limited time with the team. As they fight for seeding towards the end of the regular season, likely in the Play-In Tournament, Garland should remain a focal point of the offense and a productive player in fantasy leagues.

Given the Clippers’ once-46-point lead, Garland’s playing time was relatively low on Monday. Specifically, he finished with 18 total minutes, his fewest as a Clipper. Still, the former NBA All-Star made the most of his time by sinking a few shots from deep and recording at least six assists for the ninth game in a row. Garland will almost certainly put up more productive numbers in more competitive games going forward. Regardless, he did what he could in the minutes that he earned on Monday.

Garland put on a show in Dallas, recording his first 40-point game since January 9, 2025. And he was efficient, shooting well over 50 percent from the field and dishing out 11 assists. Also, Garland played 39 minutes in the overtime victory, another step in the right direction for the point guard who’s struggled with toe injuries the last two seasons. The Clippers sat Garland for the second half of overtime, relying on Kawhi Leonard to serve as the closer.

Garland did not play in Thursday’s loss to the Pelicans, resulting in Kris Dunn moving into the starting lineup. Garland’s return will push Dunn, who offers minimal value at best as a starter, to the bench.

Garland will sit out the second leg of this back-to-back, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Kobe Sanders started in Garland’s most recent absence and should assume that role once again, though his fantasy upside will be limited.

On the one hand, Garland did well on Wednesday to not commit a turnover in his 29 minutes, after recording a season-high eight giveaways in the Clippers’ recent loss to the Spurs. Yet, the versatile point guard was held to his fewest points since March 4, while finishing without multiple made three-pointers for the first time as a Clipper. L.A. has lost three straight games and will rely on Garland’s production to help get back in the win column on Thursday.

Garland was initially listed as questionable for this game, but he will be good to go. He has been on fire since moving into the starting unit, averaging 23.0 points, 7.2 assists and 4.4 three-pointers in 28.5 minutes per game across five starts for the Clippers.