Two-time All-Star point guard Darius Garland is expected to make his season debut Wednesday for the Cleveland Cavaliers against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers.
Garland underwent surgery on his left big toe in June, a month after injuring it in Cleveland’s five-game upset loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
His return can’t come soon enough as the Cavaliers’ high-powered offense has stumbled to 23rd place in the 30-team league, averaging 114.1 points. Cleveland also ranks in the bottom half in all three shooting categories and is tied for 19th in turnovers.
“Our offense has been a little passive for a little while, so it’s going to be very different,” Cleveland power forward Dean Wade said. “Once we get all our guys back, we’ll have more scorers out there, and they’re all very high IQ basketball players.”
Center Jarrett Allen (left index finger fracture) and swingman Max Strus (left foot surgery) remain out, but guard Sam Merrill (right hip bruise) joined Garland in going through the Cavaliers’ entire practice Tuesday at their suburban training facility.
“Darius is really close, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself, so I’d just keep it as very close,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Sam is moving very well and he feels fine, but the fear is if he gets hit, so we’ve got to work through that.”
The Cavaliers have split two contests on a three-game homestand, receiving a season-high 37 points from All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell in a 117-109 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
With Allen and Merrill getting hurt last week, Cleveland has started nine different players through seven games. Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley is the only man to start every contest.
“With injuries, you never know where you’re going to play, and that’s definitely the hardest part of it,” Wade said.
Philadelphia didn’t arrive in Cleveland until after midnight following a spirit-crushing 113-111 road loss to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. The 76ers missed their final 11 shots, completing their collapse after building a 24-point advantage.
Nikola Vucevic buried a 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left to give Chicago its only lead of the night. Quentin Grimes, who was 0-for-5 on 3-point attempts, was off target on a 28-foot shot for Philadelphia as time expired.
“It was a pretty good look, but just kind of the story of the last five minutes for us,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “They ground us down a little bit, then in the last stretch of the game, we just didn’t make any shots.
“Decent looks, but couldn’t get any of them to go. You’ve got to make a few to keep the scoreboard moving.”
Sixers All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey scored 39 points and rookie VJ Edgecombe had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Center Joel Embiid posted 20 points, on 7-of-21 shooting from the field, and grabbed six boards.
Maxey was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 33.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 9.8 assists over four games, including a season-high 43-point performance against the Orlando Magic on Oct. 27.
Embiid is unlikely to be active in Cleveland as the team attempts to limit his early-season workload because of his chronic left knee issues.
“It’s always going to be tough on a back-to-back,” Nurse said. “We’ve got to bounce back immediately. Obviously, a very tough opponent is waiting for us.”
