Cavaliers not afraid to lean on Darius Garland when needed

CLEVELAND — Largely out of necessity, the Cavaliers put the ball in Darius Garland's hands. It was up to the 6-foot-1 point guard to take over the game or crumble under the pressure. "We were going to live or die with (him)," Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after Friday's 113-104 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Of course, the Cavs really had no other option with five-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell sidelined with a bone bruise in his left knee. Garland made the Cavs' confidence in him pay off with 34 points, four rebounds and eight assists. "He willed us," Bickerstaff said. "He made play after play, whether it was scoring (or) facilitating. He took over the game." The Cavs (41-22) tried to push the ball and get Garland downhill. "In open-floor situations, I think I'm pretty hard to guard, to be honest with you," Garland said. "Whenever I get out in transition and I see a one-on-one lane, I try to be aggressive and be myself." Garland converted 13 of a season-high 26 attempts from the field, going 2-of-10 from the 3-point line and 6-of-7 from the foul line. On the downside, he had six of the Cavs' 12 turnovers. It marked his third game of 30 or more points this season and the 19th of his career. In his last three games against the Timberwolves, he's averaging 33.3 points. Garland admits he's not back to 100 percent after missing six weeks with a fractured jaw. "I still have a way to go before the playoffs," he said. "I'm starting to pick it up a little bit and getting the pace a little bit faster (so we can) get some easy baskets." Garland said he lost 12 pounds while his jaw was wired shut. The weight has been slow to come back and his conditioning is also not completely there. "It's a matter of getting back in the gym," Garland said. However, with 17 games in March, practice time has been limited. The Cavs host Brooklyn tonight. They've won 13 of their last 16 home games and are 23-7 since Jan. 3. They've been playing without three starters in Mitchell, valuable big man Evan Mobley and swingman Max Strus. "We're in a good position right now and we don't have 60 percent of our starters," Garland said. "When we get those guys back, we're going to be hard to beat." Right now, the burden is on Garland to handle the ball, facilitate the offense and to score. "Defenses have to gravitate to him," Bickerstaff said. "Typically, it's not one guy who can stay in front of him. He's an elite passer. Once you decide to put two guys on him, he's capable of making the next play. (The Minnesota game) was a clear example of the different ways he can make shots. He took 10 threes tonight but he took shots at all levels (including) that little floater. Defenses are always guessing. They can't anticipate what he's going to do." Bickerstaff said the team is happy to let Garland take over when needed. "We know what Darius is capable of," he said. "We believe in Darius wholeheartedly. His teammates believe in him, support him and trust him. We know he's going to make the plays when we need him." Simply the best Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was held to 19 points Friday and didn't score in the final 19:19. Overall, Cavs swingman Isaac Okoro held the All-Star to 7-of-27 shooting from the field and 0-for-7 from the 3-point line. Edwards was coming off a 44-point performance against Indiana on Thursday. "(Okoro is) the best perimeter defender in the league, hands down," Bickerstaff said. "He doesn't get enough credit for it because it's defense and people don't think it's sexy. There is no one in the league that can do the things Isaac Okoro does on the defensive end of the floor. There is no other player in the league that can keep his man in front of him and force people to take tough shots like Isaac Okoro can. There is no other player who can get through screens and get back to his man." Injury update It appears as if Mitchell is closer to a return than Strus. Both are nursing knee injuries. Mitchell has missed the previous three games with a bone bruise in his left knee and was scheduled to be reevaluated Saturday. "He's doing well," Bickerstaff said. "I mean, he's progressed. He's doing stuff on the floor." Bickerstaff said it's a matter of how Mitchell feels the next day after a hard workout. If he comes through that, the team will ramp up his activity. For Strus, who has a right knee strain, it's more of a "wear-and-tear thing," the coach said. "It's just a matter of when it calms down. I can't tell you a grade of seriousness. Obviously, for Max not to play, he's in pain and discomfort. It's just a matter of giving it some time to rest and, hopefully, it calms down." Bickerstaff said Strus has had an MRI and other tests. "It's nothing like joint or anything damaged," he said. Painful truth? Bickerstaff said he has a theory why there are so many injuries around the league. "The Eastern Conference is decimated with injuries," he said. "In order to survive, you have to stockpile your ammunition. "I think the specialization of the kids at a young age has an impact on the guys that we get now. I think we see guys who are coming out of college that are one-and-done who already have screws in places or have had major injuries and those types of things. So I do think the specialization of these kids so young where they don't get to work different muscles and they're always training and working the same muscles over and over again, I do think it has a long-term impact on them." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.