Adding Garland back into the mix
The backcourt duo of Garland and Mitchell looked like they were back to their old selves as the point guard made his return to the starting lineup.
On top of Mitchell’s close-out performance, Garland got the offense flowing early and often, finishing with 19 points in just over 20 minutes while adding three assists and two steals.
Mitchell celebrated the win and the return by sauntering into the locker room while Garland was being interviewed, blasting the remix of “Welcome Back” by Mase featuring the artist formerly known as Kanye West, now known as Ye. The music was met with soaring voices from the locker room to the point that Garland forgot a question he was being asked by Bally Sports sideline reporter Serena Winters.
Mitchell mentioned the main difference between Evan Mobley, who returned on Monday against the Clippers, coming back, and Garland was the energy that the guard brings, especially with him living through the wire when his jaw was fractured and struggled to speak. Even when traveling to Paris with the Cavs for their contest against the Brooklyn Nets as part of the NBA Global Games last month, Garland was forced to bring a blender on the flight across the globe to drink his food through a straw.
“I [had] people in Paris bringing out chicken alfredo and a cup on a silver platter, which was cool, but it was totally different to see,” Garland said.
The 24-year-old acknowledged that he lost 12 pounds during his time away and is still working to gain the weight back, starting with waffle fries and chicken noodle soup, which was his first meal since getting his wires removed since he still had rubber bands in.
As he returned to the starting lineup from what he described as the hardest injury of his career, Garland felt his new body adjusting to the game as early as the first quarter. But even though fatigue seeped its way in, Garland was determined to make the most of his minute restriction and was a pest on defense. He forced a turnover and score on an inbound by the Pistons; and was switching speeds and getting into the painted area to either create for himself or get his teammates involved.
“He showed particularly offensively how easy the game can be for him and how many different ways that he can beat you,” Bickerstaff said. “I thought he was aggressive. I thought he looked quick, he was attacking the basket, [and he] mixed his game up.
“The conditioning piece will come, but the speed of the game is going to come.”
For now, the Cavs are simply glad to have their starting lineup back in full force and to get everyone acclimated to the team’s new identity ahead of a push to the playoffs.
“I think it’s just the amount of talent and the amount of skill that’s out on the floor,” Bickerstaff said of having the lineup back. “You can continue to be multidimensional because so many guys on the floor can do so many different things.
“Whether it’s the starting lineup or your second unit, you got places that you can go where you feel like you have an advantage, and defenses are just going to have to make tough decisions.”
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