After A Dominant Return To The Cavs, Darius Garland Describes A Terrifying Eye Injury

Darius Garland donned a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform for the first time since sustaining a left eye laceration in the team’s season opener in Toronto. And boy, did he ever deliver when he made his home debut in 2022.

Garland took Donovan Mitchell’s pregame advice to heart and came out firing against the retaliation-driven Boston Celtics. He scored 14 points in the first quarter to go along with three assists, two steals, and three assists, and was on the court right away. It was a precursor to what was to come. In a whopping 42 minutes, he finished the game with 29 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals.

“Feels good. Got a win, I saw that,” After the Cavaliers’ 114-113 overtime win over the Celtics, their second triumph over Boston in the previous five days, Garland cracked a joke. “My teammates simply told me to be aggressive and do what I do during the first quarter, so it wasn’t really a man on a mission. Shoot them if they give you any wide open space. He still wanted me to be aggressive, even though we had been apart for a few games. Really, Donovan said to me, “You’ve got to go take the first six shots.”‘ In response, I said, “Alright, I got you, bro.” That is what he told me.'”

“He really set the tone tonight,” added Mitchell, who in his first game back complemented Garland well and had a fourth-quarter scoring barrage to shift the momentum. “I can’t speak for everyone else, but I just wasn’t sure how his rhythm would be after being away for a month. I think that’s the biggest issue. He appeared as though he had been playing with us along the entire stretch when you have your legs, your energy, and you’re excited. He’s going to score the ball, and his passing, man, he’s creating, finding guys, and making the game look simple, and he really kind of inspired us, especially in that first half. It’s great to have him out there, always in control.”

Mitchell and Cavs head coach J.B. At Cleveland’s morning shootaround, Bickerstaff, Garland’s enthusiasm for the game was especially evident.

“I mean, he was ready to go,” Bickerstaff said. “It was tangible, if you know what I mean… He was ready to make a significant contribution. He wasn’t shy at all, in my opinion. “I’m going out here and I’m gonna assert myself on this game,” he said, and his teammates followed.”

“You could tell he was excited, just running around the gym, kinda just happy, a little bit of a different step to him,” Mitchell said. “It can kind of wear on you when you’re out for that long, and I’ve been there. But he consistently served as the best teammate for the guys and for us when he was absent. When a night like this one arrives, it’s really just the first game of the season all over again. I told him that he probably won’t be able to fall asleep for the next seven to eight hours because of the energy he was displaying. He most likely won’t get any rest at all. Man, you get what you deserve. It’s wonderful to see him. He’s not a morning person, so it was impressive to see him behave so positively when you saw him this morning. He just looked like a kid in a candy store, giddy as hell.”

After the game, Garland addressed the media for the first time since the incident and described how his eye was hurt when Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. was going for a steal and caught him by accident. (Garland revealed his fellow Klutch-Sports-agency-member Trent apologized via text that night and insists there are no hard feelings about the play, saying “that comes with the game.”)

“I was super scared,” Garland said. “I rolled over when I first noticed blood oozing from my eye. That’s when I started to feel very anxious. I was also prepared for the surgery in Toronto. I anticipated getting stitches and missing several months of work. But by God’s grace, I now have two eyes, am back, and am in good health.”

Garland said he couldn’t see dribbling right when asked about the hardest part of the recovery process. Watching his teammates gave him mental energy, but he also wanted to participate in the enjoyment and success.

“Super tough,” Garland said. “How are you doing, everyone keeps asking? I reply, “I’m fine, it’s my eye. How’s your body?’ Additionally, it was somewhat frustrating to be forced to wait while watching everyone loosen up and begin their full practice. I merely made an effort to maintain my high. My teammates were triumphant. I was content that they were succeeding. However, all I wanted was to lie down next to them. It was a force I wished to experience. But now that I’m back, I’m glad…

“…However, I had a great time sitting on the bench. I mean, I have a lot of notes and stuff that I was writing down, so I’m ready for the next time we play those other teams.”

The lights were blazing as Garland walked up to the podium. He nearly requested the sunglasses he had been wearing while cheering on the team on Cleveland’s sidelines from a Cavs staff member as he glanced over at them. It is obvious that his eye is still sensitive to that level of exposure. Basketball News even received confirmation from a team-related source that it is still only at 75-80%.

No lights were too bright for the All-Star point guard to handle when the game began and a national audience was watching.

“I seen the first one go in, so it stopped bothering me to be honest with you,” Garland said while laughing. “I had witnessed that shot’s penetration, so I thought I was fine. I didn’t need to wear any protective gear, the doctor said, but yeah. I went outside and took a chance because my eye was healing fairly well.”

Before their upcoming five-game road trip, the Cavaliers finished off a flawless homestand with Darius Garland looking completely at home. If this winning streak continues, the NBA will pay even closer attention to a team that is performing at its peak from top to bottom.

“We put a lot of effort into our fight, and we’re beginning to try to string together 48 minutes of nothing but Cavaliers basketball. And that’s what I’d seen over the time I was sitting out — that we just don’t back down from no one,” Garland said.

“Everybody is prepared when any number is called because this group is just so tough-minded. Cedi Osman, Isaac Okoro, and RoLo (Robin Lopez) received some playing time tonight and contributed significantly to our success from [Kevin Love] to Dean Wade entering starting lineups. That’s our group, and I definitely love that about it.”

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Source: https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-darius-garland-details-scary-eye-injury-after-dominant-return-cleveland-cavaliers-donovan-mitchell-jb-bickerstaff-gary-trent-jr