Cavs’ Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Sam Merrill upgraded to questionable

The Cavaliers are finally starting to look like the Cavaliers again.

Darius Garland (toe), Jarrett Allen (finger), and Sam Merrill (hip) have all been upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s home game vs. the 76ers, per the NBA’s injury report.

This is notable because coach Kenny Atkinson essentially hinted on Tuesday that Garland is right there.

“Just kind of see how he responds,” Atkinson told reporters, via Cleveland.com. “He is really close. Let’s see what tomorrow morning looks like.”

If Garland isn’t cleared for Philadelphia, the next logical target would be Friday in Washington. Either way, this thing is now imminent.

“He’s done the build-up. We feel good about his conditioning and where he is,” Atkinson said. “I just think we need the green light.”

Garland will have to ramp into minutes, but it “won’t be 12,” Atkinson added. And it won’t be 32. Something in the middle. Communicate. Read the body. Build back.

He averaged 20.6 points, 6.7 assists and shot 47 percent last season. Toe surgery followed in June. And Cleveland has been patchworking lineups ever since — Merrill, Tyson, De’Andre Hunter, Larry Nance Jr. — while trying to survive the first seven games.

The Cavs are 4–3. A little uneven. Understandable.

But now? It finally looks like the cavalry is on the runway.