Cleveland Cavaliers star Darius Garland faced a challenging setback in his basketball career last season due to a severe injury. While driving to the basket during a game against the Boston Celtics, he collided with center Kristaps Porzingis, resulting in a broken jaw.
The injury was so serious that Garland was still spitting blood after the game. At last, he ended up missing 19 regular season games last year. His lackluster season even fueled trade rumors surrounding him.
Recently, Garland spoke about his struggles in an exclusive interview with Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com during the Cavs’ training camp at IMG Academy. During the interview, Garland opened up about how this injury impacted his love for the game.
“I can still remember that play. I was trying to make strides, trying to take steps in the right direction and trying to get better, and then, boom, I literally get hit in my face, and it’s back to d—near square one all over again,” Garland said.
“That’s what made it so tough last year. The momentum was picking up. Was getting better every day. We were getting better as a team. I felt like I was starting to learn so much and then another bump in the road, another year of adversity. I sort of lost my joy for basketball,” he added.
Darius Garland Prepares To Reclaim His Place On The Court
After recovering from the gruesome injury that sidelined him last season, Darius Garland is ready to give his all to the Cleveland Cavaliers this year. Garland expressed his ambitions for the upcoming season, setting high expectations for himself this season.
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“That I’m better than last year. First and foremost, I just want to stay healthy and get back to being myself, playing with that joy again, and doing the things that I’m used to doing. Hopefully have an All-Star, All-NBA type of season and try to help this team win as many games as possible like I know I can,” Garland told Cleveland.com.
Last season, Garland played only 57 regular season games. In those games, he averaged 18.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and a career-best 1.3 steals per game.
