The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a hot start to the 2022-23 season, riding a 5-game winning streak since losing their opener in Toronto that has them in second in the East through two weeks of the season.
They have done so despite the absence of their All-Star point guard, Darius Garland, who left that opening night loss against the Raptors after being poked in the eye by Gary Trent Jr., suffering a laceration on his eyelid. Garland recently returned to the practice floor, but the team has been able to lean on their new backcourt star in Donovan Mitchell to lead the charge on their winning streak.
On Wednesday, the Cavs will have their All-Star duo back together when they face the Celtics in a big early season showdown between two of the East’s best.
Cavaliers All-Star point guard Darius Garland will make his return to the lineup tonight vs. Boston, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Garland has been sidelined since Oct. 19 due to an an eye injury suffered while playing 13 minutes in Cleveland’s season opener in Toronto.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 2, 2022
That’s obviously good news for the Cavs, as Garland made the leap last year into bonafide stardom and having a player of that caliber on the floor is always helpful. It also is important for Garland and Mitchell to get as many reps early in the season together as possible considering the Cavs have designs on a deep playoff run, and to do that they’ll need those two to continue gaining comfort sharing the floor together.