The Cleveland Cavaliers have had an unexpected start to the 2025-26 season as they currently hold a 4-3 record. This comes after the Wine & Gold were tipped to be one of the teams to watch this season following their historic 64-18 regular season campaign last time around. However, it’s safe to say that the Cavaliers haven’t been able to replicate that form. But why? Well, it’s because the franchise has been missing a key piece of its roster in Darius Garland. However, that might change soon.

It is because, after missing four games in the playoffs last season and each of his team’s first seven games this season, Garland might finally make his debut against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, as per ESPN’s Shams Charania. “Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Darius Garland will make his season debut as soon as Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell ESPN. Garland, who underwent offseason surgery to repair a big toe, will be upgraded on Cavs’ injury report as he is set to return,” he reported.

This is massive news for Cleveland, which is in dire need of someone to complement Donovan Mitchell in the backcourt. And who would be better than Garland? No one. Last season, the 25-year-old was phenomenal and played a huge role in his team’s best-ever regular-season finish. Although he did struggle toward the playoffs, it was due to this big toe issue that caused him discomfort and even prevented him from playing a few games, Garland did average 20.5 points last season.

Not to mention, he also had 2.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field. Now, Darius Garland will be hoping he can emulate his performances from last season. While he certainly can do that as we all await his debut against Philadelphia on Wednesday, the important question to which everyone wants an answer is: Who will Darius Garland replace within the starting lineup as he makes his much-awaited comeback to the court?

Where will Darius Garland fit in this Cavaliers team?

Well, while the Cleveland Cavaliers must be quite excited after hearing that Darius Garland is nearing his return, it’s been a while since he’s taken the floor. And in his absence, head coach Kenny Atkinson had been forced to trust several other players. Now it will be interesting to see how the two-time All-Star will fit into the Cavaliers’ head coach’s plans.

So far, Cleveland has been playing without its full roster for almost the entire campaign. However, for the most part, the team’s backcourt duo has consisted of Lonzo Ball and Donovan Mitchell. Ball, who was acquired from the Chicago Bulls over the summer in exchange for Isaac Okoro as a backup point guard, has had a pretty bad start to the season.

The 28-year-old has been averaging 5.8 points along with 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists, which is not only significantly lower than his career average of 11.3 points per game but also nowhere near the level of Darius Garland’s production. So, it should be an easy choice for Kenny Atkinson, as he would ideally want to start both Mitchell and Garland. More so, given the sheer amount of other injuries that the team has on its roster. These include the likes of guards Sam Merrill and Max Strus, along with big man Jarrett Allen.

Not to mention, both these guards seem to have a great connection on the court, something we all witnessed last season. In fact, the Cavs were 51-15 last season when both these guards started, which is quite impressive given that the team was 3-3 when they didn’t. So, it’s safe to say that with Darius Garland expected to make his debut on Wednesday, Cleveland will be hoping they can build some momentum.