Darius

Garland

Collins started on Wednesday for the injured Darius Garland to give the Clippers a bigger opening unit. He did solid work on the glass and was decent as a scorer in his 27 minutes, ultimately falling just short of a double-double. Collins has had an up-and-down season with the Clippers, with highs and lows coming in bunches. Whether or not he remains in the starting unit once Garland returns remains to be seen. He and the Clippers face the Trail Blazers on Friday in a game that could determine which team gets the Western Conference’s eighth seed and two guaranteed chances in the Play-In Tournament to advance.

Wednesday’s game is the second in as many nights for the Clippers, who beat the Mavericks on Tuesday. As a result, Garland will sit for injury management reasons, with Collins moving into the starting lineup. Kris Dunn will run the point, which raises his fantasy ceiling.

Wednesday’s game is the second in as many nights for the Clippers, so Garland’s sitting is not a surprise. With John Collins taking on the backup center responsibilities, he may remain with the second unit. Kobe Sanders is another option to step into the starting lineup if the Clippers prefer to bring Collins off the bench.

Garland had 22 points on 18 field goal attempts in Tuesday’s win over the Mavericks. The 26-year-old point guard wasn’t as efficient as he had been recently and only had four assists. He’s provided eighth-round per game value over the last two weeks. Garland should thrive in his first full season with the Clippers next year as long as they keep Kawhi Leonard.

Garland was well on his way to scoring at least 20 points and potentially flirting with 10 assists, but he only played 24 minutes because the Clippers were blowing out the Kings. The 26-year-old point guard has been excellent lately, providing eighth-round per game value over the last two weeks. The Clippers close out the regular season with four games in the final week, beginning with a matchup against the Mavericks on Tuesday.

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.