Once again, the Cleveland Cavaliers fell short when it mattered the most.
Once again, Darius Garland left a lot to be desired when it was most important.
Many fans didn’t care for Garland’s effort in the season-ending loss to the Indiana Pacers.
He scored 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting, missed all of his six three-point attempts, and only had three assists against five turnovers.
The Cavs blew another lead and lost by nine points, with their second-leading scorer scoring just 11 points.
That’s why, following the game, backup G Ty Jerome wanted to give him his flowers and let him know that even though he’s going to face a lot of backlash for this performance, he still has his back.
“I told [Darius Garland] especially after the game. I don’t care what anyone has to say. He had a hell of a year. He’s only getting better. To play through that [injury], shows what kind’ve person and player he is. I told him to keep his head up and go back to being an all-star again next year,” Jerome said.
Ty Jerome:
“I told DG [Darius Garland] especially after the game. I don’t care what anyone has to say. He had a hell of a year. He’s only getting better. To play through that [injury], shows what kind’ve person and player he is. I told him to keep his head up.” pic.twitter.com/pocbxs6XzT
— Dylan🔮🪼 (@dillybar2145__) May 14, 2025
Garland missed four playoff games with a toe injury before returning for the past couple of games.
He didn’t seem to be limited by the injury; he was just missing shots.
Granted, everybody can have a bad game every now and then, and the Pacers also deserve all the credit in the world for the defense they played and the hunger they showed from start to finish.
Nevertheless, it’s also hard to give Garland the benefit of the doubt.
This has been the same case with him year in and year out.
He has yet to take a leap in the playoffs, and the team will have to have some uncomfortable conversations in the offseason.
He’s clearly a very talented player, but it takes much more than just that to dominate in this league.
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