Darius Garland was eating food through a straw and lost 12 pounds. Now he's back
CLEVELAND — After Wednesday night's win over the Detroit Pistons, as Darius Garland met with reporters, Donovan Mitchell yelled, "It's good to see ya."
It had been a long time coming.
After being without two starters for roughly six weeks, the Cavs welcomed back Evan Mobley Monday night and then Garland on Wednesday. And while the Cavs seemingly hit their stride with the duo out — Cleveland went 14-4 in the 18 games without them after making three key changes — the starting lineup finally being healthy again was like a breath of fresh air.
It was especially a relief for Garland. Just about the worst thing you can do to the Cavs starting point guard is to take away his basketball. Garland underwent jaw surgery and wasn't able to do much of anything physical for much of his rehab process, as his entire mouth needed to remain locked to a certain degree.
It meant no running and no lifting weights, and certainly no basketball.
"Yes, it was long overdue," Garland said after the Cavs beat the Pistons 128-121 at home. "It was definitely a long process. Just going with all the stuff I've been through the last month, it was definitely tough."
In fact, as Garland was on the precipice of returning, the Cavs just about had to stifle his enthusiasm.
"That's the thing I was going to say, is we have to calm him down because he's excited," said Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff before Wednesday's game. "He just loves to play. He's one of those guys, if you can find a 5-on-5 game anywhere, Darius is going to find a 5-on-5 game and want to play for hours. So there's no more hurtful thing for him to take away his basketball."
Mobley was out after undergoing knee surgery. Both he and Garland had their own physical milestones to hit as they rehabbed and made their way back to the court. Garland's injury leading to jaw surgery came with additional struggles.
Darius Garland loses 12 pounds after having to drink food through a straw after jaw surgery
He had to consume food only through a straw for a few weeks. He even had to bring a blender onto the plane when the team went to Paris. He lost 12 pounds in the process.
"And then I got 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. "It was definitely tough, though."
When he finally was able to eat solid food, which was perhaps the biggest milestone of them all until he returned to the court Wednesday, he went straight to Chick-fil-A. But even that meal had to be watered down, in a way.
"First thing when I got my wires taken out, I went to Chick-fil-A, got some Chick-fil-A fries, chicken noodle soup, because I still have my rubber bands in," he said.
As for the game, Garland hit the ground running in the win over the Pistons, which made the Cavs 14-6 in their last 20 games. He finished with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting in 21 minutes. Bickerstaff had noted before the game that he hoped to limit Garland to 20-24 minutes, the same window that was given to Mobley in his return Monday night.
Cavaliers starting lineup returns to full strength with Darius Garland, Evan Mobley back
Finally, the starting lineup was healthy — technically, anyway. It'll still be some time before they're all at 100 percent. Garland and Mobley are still limited to the 20-24 minute window, and Jarrett Allen was questionable Wednesday night with an illness — Bickerstaff said Allen could only get down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich all day.
So one starter wasn't able to eat solid foods for weeks, and another now can't keep anything down. So while the starting lineup is finally together again in name, it might be some time before it's really up to speed again.
"It's going to take us some time just because of how the rotation has to be kind of jumbled when you've got starters on limited minutes," Bickerstaff said. "So guys are kind of in and out trying to find their rhythm."
Garland's just glad to have a basketball in his hands again. And a plate of chicken Alfredo wouldn't hurt, either.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavaliers' Darius Garland injury included difficult rehab
