Darius Garland is one of the newest members of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Currently, Garland is in the midst of an injury recovery after dealing with a toe-related issue, dating back to his days with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“While the Clippers are optimistic about getting Garland on the court for them soon, a recent injury update suggests that Garland is on pace to miss the rest of February, aiming for a March debut,” The Athletic’s Law Murray reported on Wednesday.
The report also noted that Garland is considered week-to-week. The Clippers won’t put an official return date in place until they feel like he’s “fully over” the toe injury. LA would like to continue its push for the postseason, but Garland was added with the future in mind.
Since entering the NBA in 2019, Garland has been one of the most prominent rising stars in the NBA. By year three, he became an All-Star at 22-years-old, averaging 21.7 points and 8.6 assists per game.
While Garland didn’t follow up with any All-Star appearances over the next two years, he was back in the All-Star game last season. The veteran appeared in 75 games, posting averages of 20.6 points, 6.7 assists, and 2.9 rebounds.
This year, Garland has been dealing with injury concerns. He appeared in just 26 games, averaging 18.0 points, while shooting 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc. In addition to his scoring, Garland produced 6.9 assists per game and came down with 2.4 rebounds per outing.
The Cavaliers weren’t actively shopping Garland around for quite some time, but they showed plenty of interest in acquiring James Harden. The Cavs and the Clippers made a blockbuster deal just a few days before the deadline went into play.
When Garland arrived in LA, he was on a nine-game absence streak. He missed his first five games with the Clippers. Garland will continue to miss time as the Clippers return from the All-Star break, looking to build a small winning streak. At 26-28, the Clippers have a 5.5 game lead for the final Play-In spot. While they anticipate Garland having a strong impact when he returns, the Clippers don’t want to take any major risks with his setback.
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