Darius Garland suffers eyelid laceration in opening night loss to Toronto Raptors

TORONTO — Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff entered the season with a specific plan: At least one of his All-Star guards would be on the court at all times.

But as boxer Mike Tyson once famously said, “Everyone has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth.” Or in this case, whacked across the eye.

With under four minutes remaining in the first half, the Cavs attempted to throw an inbounds pass to starting point guard Darius Garland near the Toronto Raptors’ basket. But as the ball was coming his way, Raptors swingman Gary Trent Jr. lunged into the passing lane, attempted to make a steal and inadvertently smacked Garland in the face, causing a nasty laceration on the inside of his left eyelid.

“I thought he was exaggerating at first,” center Jarrett Allen told cleveland.com. “But then he wasn’t getting up, so I knew something was wrong. It looks like he got beat up.”

As referee Karl Lane whistled Trent for a foul, Garland was still lying face down on the Scotiabank Arena hardwood, using his hands and towels to cover his face. Trent immediately checked on Garland before walking to Toronto’s bench. Other members of the Raptors showed concern as well.

During the lengthy injury stoppage, each member of the Cavs came to the opposite end of the court to make sure Garland was OK. He underwent a quick on-court examination from head trainer Steve Spiro and after going through multiple bloody towels, Garland was helped to his feet by a couple teammates. Then he walked back to the locker room under his own power. Garland did not return.

“His head and everything was clear,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said following the 108-105 loss. “But he was cut and bleeding pretty bad from the inside of his eyelid.”

Garland played 13 minutes in Wednesday’s game, recording four points, one rebound and three assists against five turnovers.

Entering the season with high hopes following his first ever All-Star appearance in 2021-22, Wednesday certainly wasn’t the result he wanted, adding insult to injury — literally.

“It’s tough to see him go down like that in a freak accident. That’s tough. Don’t know the full extent. Don’t have news for y’all. But he’s a fighter and he’s a competitor and he’s going to be back strong,” Donovan Mitchell said. “The one thing about this group is we fought and competed. When one man goes down, the next guy is stepping up. I’m proud of the way this group responded.”

After a teamwide injury-wrecked 2021-22 campaign, the Cavs were hoping for a bit of fortune on that front. Guess not. It’s one game into the regular season and already Bickerstaff is being forced to alter his plan.

With Garland in the locker room for the final 28 minutes Wednesday night, Mitchell had to shoulder more of the offensive burden. Bickerstaff even used veteran backup point guard Raul Neto for two separate second-half stretches, trying to steal minutes so Mitchell could rest. It didn’t go well. The Cavs were outscored by eight points with Mitchell off the court in the second half, highlighting why Bickerstaff was committed to staggering his star guards and always having one on the court. With Garland out, that is no longer possible. Mitchell can’t play 48 minutes. Someone else will need to step up.

There’s no clarity yet on how much time Garland will miss. But everyone who saw him after the game, said his eye looked like it was in bad shape. So, the Cavs will wait and see how he recovers.

“Obviously, an uncomfortable spot with all the things that he has to do,” Bickerstaff said.

Cleveland is scheduled to practice Thursday morning in Toronto. Then it’s off to Chicago for a Saturday night matchup against the Bulls.

All eyes are on Garland as the organization holds its breath.

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