Darius Garland sat out of the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ game three win over the Miami Heat on Saturday, April 26. Garland was cited as having a toe injury.
However, Garland’s absence didn’t sit right with 11-time NBA All-Star Charles Barkley. The Cavaliers guard has been embroiled in a war of words with Tyler Herro. By sitting out the contest, it looked like Garland was ducking Miami’s primary offensive weapon.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, right,” Barkley said when Garland was ruled out. “First of all, you don’t say that…you gotta play… Tyler Herro, he may not be a great defender, but he had 34 points. Don’t act like he’s a bum.”
Even without Garland in the rotation, Cleveland secured it’s third consecutive win. Miami is now down 0-3 and could be eliminated from the postseason in front of a hometown crowd at the Kaseya Center.
Nevertheless, Cleveland would be wise to keep its foot on the gas. Miami can never be counted out, regardless of who is in or out of the rotation.
What Did Garland Say About Herro?
Following the Cavaliers’ April 23 win over the Heat, Garland took aim at Herro’s perceived shortcomings on defense. The Cavaliers guard noted how the team’s game plan was to get Herro switched into as many actions as possible, with Kenny Atkinson’s team hunting Miami’s guard.
“Pick on Tyler Herro,” Garland said. “Take care of the ball. Don’t play in tight spaces. And pick on their weak defenders.”
While Herro has struggled to make an impact on defense during this series, he has been a highly valuable player on the offensive end. In the three games against Cleveland, Herro is averaging 22.3 points, 3.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. He’s shooting. 51.4% from 2-point range and 40% from deep.
As such, Herro can’t be counted out by the Cavaliers, especially if Miami finds a way to hide him better on the defensive end.
Garland Has His Own Defensive Shortcomings
Another reason why Garland’s comments didn’t sit well within the NBA community is that Garland has been the target of multiple position opponents in recent years. In fact, his defensive flaws were a concern for Cleveland coming into this series. Longtime Cavaliers reporter Chris Fedor discussed Garland’s defensive weaknesses during a recent episode of the ‘Wine and Gold Talk Podcast.’
“I think there remains to be questions about Darius Garland and his readiness for everything that playoff basketball is,” Fedor said. “…If we’re being honest, Darius has struggled throughout the course of his career. And at times this year, even this year was an All-Star caliber season for him, but there were times that he struggled with physicality…The Cavs are ready for it. Kenny Atkinson is ready for it. Darius says he’s ready for it. But this is a switch-heavy defense, and teams are going to go pick and roll, and they’re going to put Darius in the action over and over and over again.”
Garland has avoided being a target against Miami. However, as the Cavaliers get deeper into the postseason, he will likely find himself being tested. As such, his comments about Herro could come back to haunt him; in fact, it would appear that they already are.
11-Time All-Star Puts Cavaliers’ Darius Garland on Blast