Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland, who has missed 13 games so far with a fractured jaw, has made a big step toward a return.
Garland had the wire removed from his jaw on Monday. That’s a huge step, but he has work to do to return to the court; for the past month he has been on a liquid diet because of the injury. He’s got to get back in condition to play.
Garland fractured his jaw a month ago, on Dec. 15, when he collided with the Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis. Garland fell to the floor in pain at the time, eventually going to the locker room, but he returned and finished the game, scoring 19 points in the Boston win.
Cleveland has gone 10-3 in the games Garland has missed, ones where the Cavaliers were also without defensive anchor Evan Mobley. Garland was averaging 20.7 points and 5.9 assists a game before his injury.
