Cleveland, OH
Darius Garland Can Regain Confidence With Cavaliers Next Season
Changes are happening with the Cleveland Cavaliers as the head coaching search will begin shortly following the firing of J.B. Bickerstaff. According to President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman, there should be no expectation of a major change in the backcourt though.
Just one day after the Bickerstaff news, Altman took to the podium at the practice facility in Independence. When asked about the potential of splitting up Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, his response seemed pretty clear.
“I don’t see why we should,” asserted Altman.
The good news for the Cavaliers is that things appear to be headed in the right direction in terms of retaining Donovan Mitchell long-term. This should ultimately be priority number one because Mitchell is a true superstar in a star driven league. The chances of winning big games significantly increases when Mitchell is on the floor.
As for his backcourt counterpart, Darius Garland, he is the one receiving backlash due to a down season. This past season, Garland averaged 18 points per game, 6.5 assists per game and shot 44.6 percent from the field. From three-point range, his average was 37.1 percent and from the free throw line, he made 83.4 percent.
Ultimately, these were still good numbers but not what fans have come to expect of Garland. Here are his numbers from the two prior seasons.
While Garland’s production dropped this past season, it appeared like his confidence was shaken. Not only that, but he was lacking aggressiveness and the desire to drive to the basket. So what could be the root cause of a difficult year for him?
I would argue that the broken jaw was the main issue. Back on December 14th, the Cleveland Cavaliers were playing the Celtics in Boston. As Garland tried to drive at Kristaps Porzingis, the two collided and Garland sustained a fracture in his jaw.
Recovering from this injury was difficult because Garland’s mouth was wired shut for four weeks. He was then confined to a liquid diet and lost 12 pounds. That might not sound like a lot, but that is significant for an athlete.
When Garland’s jaw was finally healed and he was able to return to the court, he certainly looked more lean from a spectators vantage point. Garland worked hard during the season and reportedly gained ten of those pounds back. While he focused on his health, Garland’s scoring presence took a hit.
Prior to the injury, he was averaging 20.7 points per game, which is much closer to what he had been doing the two seasons prior. Taking a step back and evaluating the struggles Garland had to physically power through during the middle of the season, should help put things in perspective.
Athletes at all levels are invested in taking care of their bodies. For professional athletes, if they don’t take care of themselves, then that could be the difference between making money or not. Since entering the NBA, Garland has been working to add weight and muscle due to having a naturally leaner build. In the matter of one month, he lost weight and muscle quickly. That can mess with an athletes’ psyche. Perhaps feeling weaker and a concern about re-injury resulted in the lack of aggressiveness.
Now that the offseason is underway for the Cavaliers, Garland has an opportunity to first add some more weight and muscle and then regain his confidence as a shooter. Physically getting right could get his mind right. The aggressiveness and desire to drive to the lane may return in 2024.
Garland’s star-power is certainly not gone because he showed a flash back to 2022 All-Star Garland against the Boston Celtics in game four of this past series. Without Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen and the Cavs down 2-1 in the series, Garland tried to carry the team to a win. Despite falling just short 109-102, the 24-year-old point guard had 30 points and seven assists.
Clearly Koby Altman and the front office believes that player is still in there and that the Cavs can get consistent performances out of him in the future. As long as Mitchell does return to Cleveland and no team presents an outlandish offer for Garland to the Cavaliers, we should all expect to see this backcourt at least one more time. A confident and aggressive Garland paired with Donovan Mitchell under new leadership could be quite entertaining.
For those complaining about two smaller guards and that not being a championship winning formula, a little patience will be key. Altman expressed on Friday that he believes the data says otherwise.
If things fall apart this coming season, then perhaps next offseason the front office can explore dealing Garland. At minimum, if he can improve in 2024-25, then he can elevate his trade value.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Make that a trio of commitment in the Class of 2027 this week for the Louisville football program.
Cleveland (Oh.) Brush defensive end Munir Lewis announced Wednesday that he has committed to the Cardinals. He’s the third commit in the last four days for UofL, Bradenton (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney defensive lineman Kaleb Exume committing on Sunday and Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day two-way athlete Brooklyn Maxey doing so on Monday.
Lewis chose Louisville out of a top seven that also consisted of Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Purdue. He also held offers from Cincinnati, Minnesota, Wisconsin plus several others, and made multiple visits to UofL’s campus – including this past Friday for the spring game. He’s set to return for an official visit this May.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound defensive end is regarded as the 23rd-ranked prospect in the state of Ohio, the No. 50 edge rusher in the Class of 2027, and the No. 592 recruit in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite.
Lewis was an explosive force for Brush as a junior this past season. He collected 55 total tackles, 13.5 for loss, nine sacks, four pass breakup, a forced fumbles and over 20 quarterback pressures. He helped Brush finish the 2025 season with a 6-4 record.
Lewis is the 12th commitment in Louisville’s 2027 recruiting class, which is on pace to be the best in school history. he joins a class that not only ranks as the best class in the ACC, but the No. 8 class in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite. Four of their commitments are regarded as four-star prospects by the composite.
He’s also the latest in a budding pipeline to the state of Ohio, which has been championed by Executive Director of Football Personnel and Recruiting Vince Marrow. Five of Louisville’s 12 commitments in the 2027 cycle are from the Buckeye State, with three hailing from the Cincinnati area and the other two coming from Cleveland.
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American Cornhole League Cleveland Signature Open | April 24, 2026 | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
American Cornhole League is bringing the heat to the boards in Cleveland with $150,000 on the line. Join us on April 24-26, 2026, for elite competition where amateurs and pros collide. Whether you’re a backyard ringer or a seasoned veteran, this is your chance to…
Garion Thorne gives you a preview, prediction and pick for tonight’s game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians.
Few teams needed a win last night more than the Astros.
Houston came into Monday’s action having lost 12 of its past 14 games, while also having lost nearly as many pitchers — at least it feels that way. Just take a quick glance at this club’s IL. Hunter Brown (shoulder), Tatsuya Imai (fatigue), Cristian Javier (shoulder). Those aren’t losses that are easy to survive, and the Astros have understandably been struggling. However, after a dominating 9-2 victory, Houston can at least take a small breath.
Can the Astros make it two in a row this evening? Or will the Guardians bounce back? Let’s preview this AL clash and make a couple picks on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Astros vs. Guardians prediction, preview
So, remember that list of injured Astros pitchers I just recited? The consequence of the length of that list, is that you have to start people like Ryan Weiss. That’s not to suggest that Weiss is completely without promise — he was a stud in the KBO in 2024 and 2025 — it’s just that the right-hander’s MLB career has gotten off to a slightly rocky start, and it’s clear that Houston currently prefers the 29-year-old as a reliever. In 14.2 innings of work, Weiss has racked up 18 strikeouts, but he’s also surrendered four home runs, 11 earned runs, and a sixth percentile opponent hard hit rate (54.5%). Weiss isn’t quite built up to be a starter, either. Well, at least not fully, as he threw a season-high 76 pitches in his last outing. That means we’re probably going to have to see a lot of the Astros’ bullpen on Tuesday, which is not a good thing. Houston’s RPs rank 29th in ERA (5.66) and they’ve served up a league-high 1.89 opponent home runs per nine. Yikes.
On the other side of this pitching matchup, we find another starter with little major league experience. That said, Parker Messick already looks like another developmental success story of the Guardians’ pitcher factory. The former second-round pick debuted in 2025, maintaining a 2.72 ERA and a 2.98 FIP across seven starts. If possible, Messick’s looked even better so far in 2026, allowing a mere three earned runs over 25.2 innings. Now, a .200 BABIP isn’t going to sustain. Neither is a 91.4% strand rate. However, when you’re limiting opponents to a 3.3% barrel rate and a 29.5% hard hit rate, you might just get a little “lucky” from time to time. It’s not like the southpaw has been skating by on a soft schedule, either. Messick has faced the Dodgers, the Braves, the Cubs and the Orioles. There isn’t a single cakewalk in there.
That pattern of difficult matchups will continue on Tuesday, as well. For as underwhelming as the Astros’ record is, it’s mostly a byproduct of poor pitching. The offense has actually been one of the best in all of baseball. Houston actually leads all American League teams in wOBA (.350) and wRC+ (124), with Yordan Alvarez leading the charge. He’s been fantastic in left-on-left scenarios, too. In his 36 plate appearances within the split, Alvarez is slashing .448/.528/1.034 with a 315 wRC+. I don’t want to discount Jose Ramirez, who has six homers and 10 stolen bases for the Guardians, yet a healthy Alvarez is easily the best bat in this series. He’s that good.
Astros vs. Guardians pick, best bet
Best Bet: Jose Ramirez 2+ Total Bases (+107)
Weiss has a 6.27 FIP. The Astros’ bullpen has given up the most opponent home runs per nine (1.89). Ramirez probably won’t be in a single bad matchup this evening, and that’s before you factor in that the All-Star is a switch-hitter.
Strong Lean: Ryan Weiss 4+ Strikeouts (+123)
While Weiss’ surface numbers aren’t great, he has managed four strikeouts in two of his three outings where he’s thrown 60+ pitches. He’s struck out 18 in 14.2 innings and I expect he’ll flirt with the 90-pitch plateau on Tuesday.
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