Cavs to rest Darius Garland for road game vs Kings

The Cleveland Cavaliers are aiming to stay healthy with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference all but wrapped up and the NBA playoffs about a month away.

So despite a two-game slide, they will be resting point guard Darius Garland for Wednesday’s road game against the Sacramento Kings, per the official NBA injury report.

Cleveland (56-12) has lost two straight and is currently on a West Coast trip with games against the Kings, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers upcoming. 

“You want to be healthy and playing the right way. We’re competitors and we want to be the best of the best,” Cavs star Donovan Mitchell said about the possibility of getting the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA playoffs. “But at the end of the day we want to be healthy, playing the right way and taking these tests, and if we don’t, then we don’t.”

Garland is averaging 20.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists this season while shooting 47.6% from the field, 40.7% from beyond the arc and 88.1% from the free-throw line. The guard didn’t sound too worried about the team’s current two-game losing streak. 

“I know everything is under a microscope right now since we’ve been on our run,” Garland said after the Cavs lost to the Los Angeles Clippers. “So, two losses, it’s the same two losses as any other team. It’s basketball — everybody loses, everybody wins.”

There were rumors last offseason that Garland could ask out if the Cavs extended Mitchell, but it was just white noise, just like the alarm bells are about the current two-game losing streak. 

“It crossed my mind. Like just literally crossed it for like five seconds,” Garland told ESPN. “But I really love this group, man. It’s like a real brotherhood. We’ve been together for three years now, four years now, and I really want to win here. I think this group has the opportunity to do something special and bring a championship back to Cleveland. And that’s what I want to do.”