NBA

Cavs’ Darius Garland (toe contusion) is out on Wednesday vs. the Miami Heat

Darius Garland Cavs pic

Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers were on the road Monday to face the Heat. They played a closely contested game with Miami that went to OT. 

The Heat walked away with a 140-138 victory after Nikola Jovic set up Andrew Wiggins for a game-winning dunk. Against the Heat on Monday, Cavs’ all-star PG Darius Garland re-injured his toe. He tried playing through the injury, but eventually had to exit the game early. On Wednesday, the team announced that Garland suffered a contusion in his toe. The 25-year-old will not be available on Wednesday for Cleveland.

How much time will Darius Garland miss due to a toe injury?


At the end of the 2024-25 season, Cavaliers’ Darius Garland suffered a toe injury. He missed a few games to end the year but was available for the playoffs. However, the toe injury started to linger, and Garland missed four consecutive games for Cleveland. Without Garland’s production, the Cavs struggled in the second round vs. the Pacers and lost the series. During the 2025 offseaosn, Darius Garland had surgery to repair his toe.

The recovery process went well for Garland, but he was forced to miss the first seven games of the 2025-26 season. Since his return, Garland has played in three of the team’s last four games. Against the Heat on Monday, Darius Garland re-injured the toe he had offseason surgery on. He attempted to play through the pain but eventually left in the third quarter. The team announced on Wednesday that Darius Garland suffered a contusion in his left toe. Not ideal for the Cavaliers.

Cleveland has announced that Garland will receive daily treatment on his toe. Additionally, he’ll continue his post-surgery management plan. The team said that Darius Garland will not be available for the Cavs on Wednesday. That’s a blow to the roster after Garland just made his season debut last week. It’s unfortunate timing, but the team has depth on the roster who can step up.

While Garland is out, backup guard Sam Merrill will see an increased role. Merrill got off to a hot start to begin the 2025-26 season for Cleveland. He scored 19, 22, and 17 points in his first three games. Through eight games and four starts, Merrill is averaging a career-high 14.6 points per game. We’ll see how much playing time Merrill sees on Wednesday when the Cavs face the Heat in their second consecutive game.