Subscribe
Follow Us
In their 118-87 victory over the Washington Wizards, the Cleveland Cavaliers faced two scares in the third quarter. Superstar Donovan Mitchell nearly injured his shoulder while trying to navigate a screen by Jonas Valanciunas, but he returned despite his limp right arm. However, after Mitchell went to the locker room, Cavs guard Darius Garland was hit in the back of the head by Valanciunas and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Before blaming Valanciunas, it's important to note that he set a solid screen when Mitchell got hurt. Mitchell's injury occurred as he tried to run through it. Meanwhile, Garland's injury was a freak accident; he collided with Valanciunas's left arm while pursuing a lob pass from Evan Mobley under the basket.
At first, it was unclear what the situation was with either player. Mitchell's return to the floor was reassuring. However, Garland's remaining in the locker room raised alarms, especially given how essential Garland has been for Cleveland's red-hot start to the season. Thankfully, head coach Kenny Atkinson didn't seem concerned after the game.
“I think he's fine,” Atkinson said of Garland. “I just looked at him. He gave me the thumbs up, and I don't think he'll miss any time at all. I think he's fine.”
When the media entered the locker room, both players were okay. Garland and Mitchell joked about Mitchell's laundry routine and interrupted each other's post-game interviews. Their light-hearted interactions alleviated concerns about their injuries, suggesting they should be fine moving forward.
“I'm good. I'm alive,” Garland joked about his head injury.
“In the moment, it's scary, but we're all good,” Mitchell said, who tried to relate to Garland since he wasn't wearing the correct prescription glasses, giving him headaches.
Cavs' Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell give personal injury updates
When discussing his injury scare, Mitchell said he suffered “a little stinger in the shoulder.” He also added there's a reason he doesn't play football.
“I should have known not to run into [Valanciunas'] screen, but sometimes I take the challenge to try to run through a guy's chest,” Mitchell said. “But some people, you just don't, and he's one of them.”
Garland, meanwhile, jokingly compared taking Valanciunas's arm to the back of the head to surviving a car crash. Understandably, Garland might feel that way. Valanciunas is listed as 7 feet and 270 pounds. Garland is only 6-1 and 192 pounds.
“Valanciunas, he sets great screens. They're just punishing,” Atkinson said. “We don't realize this game, especially for guards, with all the pick-and-rolls in the game, the force of the screens, it's tough. But that's the nature of the game.
“It's part of what you have to do as a perimeter player is take those hits and try to avoid them the best you can. But Valanciunas is one of the best screeners in the league. He got us a couple of times.”
Although they're probably both a little sore, thankfully, Garland and Mitchell don't seem like they'll miss time for the Cavs. Both guards have been vital in Cleveland's NBA-best start to the season, so possibly losing both of them would be devastating. Thankfully, that doesn't have to be a thought, as both are in good health and good spirits after a rousing Cavs win over the Wizards at home.
