Cavs’ Darius Garland Eyeing Bounce-Back Season, ‘Playing With That Joy Again’

He suffered a broken jaw. He committed way too many turnovers when healthy. He had his moments, but for the most part, his season best could be described as one where he was dazed and confused.

This coming from a man who was an All-Star a few seasons back. No one expected Garland to sink so low. That includes Garland.

For the record, he made no excuses. But a broken jaw sure didn’t help matters.

“I can still remember that play,” he told Chris Fedor or Cleveland.com. “I was trying to make strides, trying to take steps in the right direction and trying to get better and then, boom, I literally get hit in my face and it’s back to d— near square one all over again.”

It took more than a physical toll. It took an emotional one, too.

“That’s what made it so tough last year. The momentum was picking up. Was getting better every day. We were getting better as a team,” Garland told Fedor. “I felt like I was starting to learn so much and then … another bump in the road, another year of adversity. “I sort of lost my joy for basketball.”

The Cavs slopped their way past the Magic in seven games in seven games in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. They were eliminated in the second by the eventual-champion Celtics.

Garland looked like a shell of himself and something less than the Cavaliers had hoped. But with the offseason came a coaching change to Kenny Atkinson and Garland said he is suddenly reinvigorated. 

“First and foremost, I just want to stay healthy and get back to being myself, playing with that joy again and doing the things that I’m used to doing,” he told Fedor. “Hopefully have an All-Star, All-NBA type of season and try to help this team win as many games as possible like I know I can.

“I just want to stay healthy so I can get out there and shut so many people up that turned on me.”

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