Heat’s Kyle Anderson: Cavs Looked Like Better Team Without Darius Garland

All-Star point guard Darius Garland didn’t play in the final two games of the Cavaliers’ first-round sweep, and Heat forward Kyle Anderson suggested perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing.

Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, Anderson said the Cavs “looked like a better team without Garland on the floor. They were able to dictate the tempo and get more stops. I’m not saying they’re better without Garland. … He’s a really good player.”

Anderson isn’t wrong. The Cavs defeated the Heat in Miami by 37 points in Game 3 and by 55 points in Game 4. That came after some closer ones in Games 1 or 2 in Cleveland.

So yes, the Cavs looked better in Games 3 and 4, as Garland sat out with a sprained big toe.

But don’t be fooled. The Cavs may have dominated the Heat, but Garland’s absence had nothing to do with it. Cleveland was just that good, that determined. And the Heat were just that bad.

Garland was the engine behind the Cavs’ 64-18 finish, putting together a career season and occasionally saving the day. He’s been Cleveland’s Mr. Clutch.

He is expected to return for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series vs. the Pacers, Sunday at Rocket Arena.

And the Cavs will be better because of it — regardless of what Anderson thinks.

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