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Cleveland Cavaliers better without guard Darius Garland, Heat's Kyle Anderson says
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- Cleveland Cavaliers better without guard Darius Garland, Heat's Kyle Anderson says
Sometimes the smack talk leaves the playground.
But you have to wonder what the Miami Heat's Kyle Anderson was thinking with comments about Cavs ' guard Darius Garland after the Cleveland Cavaliers swept his team out of the NBA Playoffs first-round in record fashion.
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But hey, media. Questions. Basketball. Egos.
There are plenty of egos and infinite smack talk in the NBA. Invariably it gets a bit prickly. But Garland's verbal spat with Tyler Herro spilled into the public when the Cavs guard questioned the Heat star's defense and Herro came right back at him.
Enter Anderson when asked a question about why the Heat basically collapsed in the final two games of the series.
"If you want my honest answer, and I don't mean to throw shots at anybody and or even entertain what was going on between them," he said, "but I think they looked like a better team without (Darius) Garland on the floor."
Apr 18, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Miami Heat forward Kyle Anderson (20) shown on the court before the game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
That would a non-shot shot if anyone's being honest.
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Anderson continued: "Once Garland wasn't on the floor for them, they were able to dictate the tempo and get more stops on defense and it was hard for us to score and they had more guys out there on defense," he said. "So, I think once we came across that it got kind of tough for us."
Anderson might've just been being honest. But it's fun to think how salty things could now get between the Cavs and Heat next season.
George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Heat's Kyle Anderson contends Cavs better without Darius Garland
