Garland and Merrill to return for matchup with Raptors
The Cavaliers will be getting some of their injured players back for Sunday.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will be getting some reinforcements back in Sunday’s matchup with the Toronto Raptors. Darius Garland (groin) and Sam Merrill (ankle), who both missed Cleveland’s last game against the New Orleans Pelicans, will be available to play.
This isn’t the biggest surprise, but it’s still good news for the Cavs. Head coach Kenny Atkinson has recently stated that neither Garland nor Merrill had serious injuries. They both participated in practice on Saturday morning.
Garland and Merrill will have chances to rebound from poor showings against the Boston Celtics in their last outing. Garland struggled to find his shot, but was able to stay aggressive. That was something his coach liked to see. Merrill couldn’t capitalize on his starting opportunity as he failed to generate quality looks from the perimeter. This led to him not getting any fourth-quarter minutes.
The Cavs could also get Isaac Okoro back. He was a full participant in practice on Saturday after missing two games with an ankle injury. He is questionable for Sunday’s game.
Cleveland will be without Caris LeVert (knee) and Dean Wade (ankle). Neither practiced on Saturday. Atkinson stated that Wade is “progressing nicely” and LeVert is “still trying to get back.”
The Raptors will be missing Bruce Brown (return to conditioning), Immanuel Quickly (elbow), and Kelly Olynyk (back). Bruno Fernando (ankle) is questionable.
Injuries have started to pile up for the Cavs as they went through the most dense section of their schedule. It’s good that both Garland and Merrill are expected to return to the court on Sunday.