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How is Cavs All-Star Darius Garland doing in his rehab from toe surgery?
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- How is Cavs All-Star Darius Garland doing in his rehab from toe surgery?
INDEPENDENCE — The Cavaliers might be without All-Star point guard Darius Garland to begin the 2025-26 season. But after seeing how much his absence impacted their offense in the NBA playoffs, they'll gladly wait for his season debut if it means he has a chance to be healthier for the team's most important games down the road.
Garland underwent surgery on his big toe in early June to address an issue that cost him four consecutive playoff games during the Cavs' run. Garland eventually returned during the second-round series against the Indiana Pacers while playing through a considerable amount of pain.
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That toe injury was particularly detrimental to how Garland plays, as he needs all the leverage he can find to cut and drive like he does when he's at his best. Without him on the floor, the Pacers took advantage with as much pressing on defense as they could possibly muster. When he returned — a valiant effort to try to save the series — he wasn't quite the same player because of the injury.
Garland will be limited for training camp and is expected to miss at least the first month of the regular season.
"He's back on the court now. He's doing basketball activities now," said Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman. "The toe looks good, he feels good. We're certainly not gonna put a timetable on it, but he's going to start to participate in limited team activities in training camp — very limited. And I think for him, the biggest thing is, how do we start to ramp him up from a conditioning standpoint?"
Garland had his best season last year, averaging 20.6 points and 6.7 assists while shooting 47.2% from the floor and 40.1% from 3-point range en route to his second career All-Star selection.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Darius Garland toe injury update entering 2025 training camp
