Cavaliers' Darius Garland Won't Need Surgery for Eye Injury; No Structural Damage

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland suffered a left eye injury in Wednesday's season-opener against the Toronto Raptors, but he appears to have avoided a disastrous situation.

The Cavaliers announced that Garland will not need surgery after testing revealed "no structural damage." He will continue to be evaluated in the coming days.

Garland was limited to 13 minutes as the Cavs suffered a 108-105 loss. He scored four points on 2-of-8 shooting with three assists, two steals and five turnovers.

In Garland's absence, Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell shouldered the offense, scoring a game-high 31 points in his team debut, adding nine assists. Mitchell was acquired in an offseason trade with the Utah Jazz, and the Cavs are hoping he and Garland will be one of the top backcourt duos in the NBA.

A fourth-year point guard out of Vanderbilt, Garland quickly developed into one of the more promising young floor generals in the league. The 22-year-old posted career highs of 21.7 points and 8.6 assists per game in 2021-22 to earn his first selection to the All-Star Game.

After finishing eighth in the Eastern Conference last year, the Cavs were expected to take a step forward this season. Along with Garland and Mitchell, who is a three-time All-Star, Cleveland has a deep, talented roster that includes Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Kevin Love.

If Garland is forced to miss time, Mitchell could slide over to point guard and be the team's primary ball-handler while Love could be inserted into the starting lineup.

The Cavaliers will be back in action Saturday against the Chicago Bulls.