CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The shorthanded Cavaliers got a shot in the arm Wednesday night with the return of All-Star guard Darius Garland.
Garland was listed as questionable but went through his pregame routine without issue allowing him to face the Hornets.
“It’s a big boost for us, obviously,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said 145 minutes before tip off. “His ability to put pressure on the paint, his ability to create for others and make other guys better. Obviously when you add an All-Star caliber guard the energy level increases and again, it’s one of those things where guys want to play with him.”
The team announced Garland’s return 45 minutes after Bickerstaff made his comments.
Cleveland remains without veterans Rajon Rondo due to a sprained right big toe and Caris LeVert because of a sprained right foot.
The Cavs have been cautious with Garland, who has been dealing with a bone bruise in his lower back since before the All-Star break.
“In his position, you spend a lot of time with your back to people when you’re on the defensive end of the floor,” Bickerstaff said. “The game is a lot of pick-and-roll, right, and that’s the angle that a lot of those screens get set on so you’re just cautious and aware of all of it to be honest with you. We just have to do the best we possibly can to figure out how to manage it. But we always will take his health [into account] first and foremost.”
Staying hot – The Cavs have gotten the rest of the NBA’s attention and are no longer being considered underdogs as they were earlier in the season.
As the playoff race heats up the next seven weeks, Bickerstaff will need his team to bring the same level of intensity they had earlier in the season every night down the stretch.
“It’s part of the process and you have to understand that,” Bickerstaff said. “We keep talking about it and have all year long, all these experiences that our group is going through are new experiences for them. We can’t panic and get all up in arms. We have to use our experience that tells us, these are the steps that you have to take and when you’re trying to build something that’s successful and sustainable, you can’t skip steps.
“Guys going from being the underdog to being the team people are targeting, right, there’s a shift there. And it happens. What our guys have to figure out, and all teams end up doing it – all the good teams, is how to be the best version of themselves every single night regardless of outside influences or opponents. And that’s one of the things we’re going through right now is understanding the difference between confidence and arrogance. And these are the conversations you have to have, and you gotta takes some lumps in order to learn that and that’s kind of what were going through now and what we see.”
Happy Anniversary – Wednesday marked the 60th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlin’s 100-point game.
Bickerstaff reflected on a feat that he expects won’t ever be repeated.
“I don’t think it’ll ever happen again,” Bickerstaff said. “Even with eh amount of scoring and with how it’s increasing and the offensive talents of guys these days, I just think it’s a feat that is what, once in a… I don’t want to say lifetime because I just don’t think it’ll happen again. It goes back to just how dominant he was, how impactful he was and how he helped change the game into what we see now with or through the past with the dominant big guys and the impact they can have.”
