CLEVELAND, Ohio — In this episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, Ethan Sands, Chris Fedor and Jimmy Watkins discuss Darius Garland’s new toe injury, how it differs from his offseason surgery, the mental and physical toll it can take, and what it means moving forward.
Takeaways:
1. Player Development is the Core Focus for the Second Half
The guys agreed that the Cavaliers’ main goal for the second half of the season should be player development rather than just climbing the standings. While getting a top-four seed is a realistic target, the more crucial objective is for key players to return to form. This includes Evan Mobley rediscovering his performance level from last year and other underachieving players stepping up. The belief is that if individual players improve, wins will naturally follow. This strategy also involves coach Kenny Atkinson finalizing his best lineups and rotations. The podcast views this approach as more productive for the team’s long-term evolution than simply relying on Donovan Mitchell’s high usage to grind out regular-season victories, a method seen as less beneficial for the rest of the team’s growth.
2. Darius Garland and Sam Merrill Sidelined with Recurring Injuries
The Cavaliers are facing significant backcourt issues with new injuries to Darius Garland and Sam Merrill, who are both out for the upcoming game against Philadelphia. Garland is sidelined with “right great toe soreness,” a worrying development as it affects the opposite foot from his previous major toe surgery. This setback comes just as he was regaining his dynamic, explosive form. Meanwhile, shooter Sam Merrill is out with a recurring right-hand sprain — the same injury that previously kept him out for a month. These injuries, combined with the continued absence of Dean Wade and Max Strus, leave the team without four key rotational players and significantly deplete its depth and offensive firepower.
3. Lonzo Ball’s Playoff Viability is Questioned Due to Recovery Needs
A major concern raised was Lonzo Ball’s ability to be a reliable playoff contributor. The hosts noted a pattern where Ball plays effectively only after receiving multiple days of rest, a luxury that doesn’t exist in a condensed playoff schedule with games every other day. His body seemingly requires an extended recovery window that the postseason does not allow for. This creates a significant dilemma for the Cavaliers’ management, who believe they will need his defensive and transitional skills but may not be able to count on his availability. The discussion highlighted this as a critical issue that could influence whether the team decides to trade him before the deadline.
4. Max Strus’s Return is a Critical “Swing Factor” for Team Potential
Max Strus was identified as a “swing player” whose health is pivotal to the Cavaliers’ ultimate success this season. There are significant questions surrounding what version of Strus will return from his off-season foot surgery. The panel wondered about his effectiveness, his ability to move and cut off screens, and his defensive impact upon his return. If Strus is not the same player he was, the team would have to rely more on others like Jaylon Tyson, De’Andre Hunter, or Dean Wade, none of whom offer his specific skillset. Strus’ ability to play at a high level is considered essential for the team to function at its peak and achieve its goals.
5. Garland’s Recurring Injuries Attributed to Playstyle, Not Equipment
In response to a fan question, the hosts dismissed the theory that Darius Garland’s New Balance shoes were causing his recurring toe injuries. They argued that the injuries are more likely a consequence of his specific playstyle and physical build. As an undersized guard who relies on explosive speed, hard stops, and quick changes of direction, Garland puts immense, repetitive pressure on his feet and toes. The panel concluded that his body is inherently more susceptible to these kinds of injuries, a risk that has followed him since college. This frames Garland’s durability as a fundamental, ongoing challenge for both the player and the organization, rather than an issue with his equipment.
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Transcript
NOTE: This transcript was generated by artificial intelligence and could contain misspellings and errors.
Ethan Sands: What up Cavs Nation? I’m your host, Ethan Sands and I’m back with another episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast. Joining me Today, Chris Fedor, cleveland.com Cavs beat reporter and Chris is ducking the snow in Cleveland by staying in Philadelphia. Obviously he’s there for Friday night’s game against the 76ers as a two game series in Philly. And also, as I always mention, Jimmy Watkins and myself are holding it down in Cleveland, trekking through the snow as we get ready for tomorrow’s contest. But before that, we have to do our weekly hey Chris episode. So yes, we’re answering questions from Subtext subscribers and we do this on a weekly basis. But but we also have daily conversation with our subscribers so they can get insider information. If you want to join the group, 14 days free, 3.99amonth, go to cleveland.com Cavs and click on the blue bar at the top of the page. And it’s so easy to get access and it’s also easy to stop. But you’re not gonna want to once you get hooked because we’re giving you insider information that is not readily available on other social media platforms. With all that being said, Chris, Jimmy, let’s get into the questions. Here’s the first one from Jeff in Friday Harbor, Washington. He says, hey guys, great game last night. I feel like it’s the first time all season they look the team we thought they would be. Let’s hope it continues. Moving into the second half of the season. What are your expectations? What are you looking forward to? How far up the standings do you think they can climb? And guys, let’s just start here the standings portion. The Cavs are seventh in the Play in tournament. They’re two and a half games out of the third seed and a few games back from being out of the play in tournament as well. What are you guys thinking when it comes to the second half of the season expectations and where they’re going to go?
Chris Fedor: Yeah, I mean, I’ve talked about this a few different times, guys. I think for them a realistic expectation is to just get back into the top four. Can they get back into the top four? I think there’s certainly a pathway to that, maybe even top three. But I don’t even know that it’s so much about a record. I don’t even know if it’s so much about where they finish in the standings. I think it’s about Evan Mobley becoming the guy that he was last year. I think it’s the Underachieving players on this team to this point of the season, getting back to the level that they were at last year or the level that a lot of people expected them to be coming into this year. And if that happens, then I think naturally wins are going to follow. On top of that, I do think it’s important for Kenny Atkinson to continue to get more comfortable with lineups and rotations. See if he can find what he believes is his best five man lineup. See what he can do about finding the best three man grouping, see what he can do about finding the best two man groupings. Like those kinds of things. Whatever it is that is going to be informative and helpful for this team when springtime rolls around. That to me is the most important aspect of the second half of the season.
Jimmy Watkins: Yeah, because we’ve seen it before where this team goes on a run, but it doesn’t lead anywhere. Like I’m thinking back to when Donovan Mitchell and Jared Allen saved the season a couple of years ago. Sure, they went on, they went on a crazy streak of winning. I don’t know if it was exactly however many games in a row now, but January, February stretched from two seasons ago where they were a dominant team during the regular season. That would help you get back up into the standings, but that’s not helping this team evolve. Donovan Mitchell, high usage. I can, he can will this team to 46, 47 wins, get him in a home, home court advantage in the first round of playoffs. But I don’t know how productive that is for the rest of the team. So I’m, I’m with, I mean, Darius Garland’s health, Evan Mobley’s comfort, maybe more consistency with that comfort to DeAndre Hunter. We saw signs of life from the Sixers game the other night. We also saw, I was actually intrigued by the first Lonzo Ball minutes in what, 10 days. That that’s another signal to me they’re not giving up on him as a, as a long term contributor here because I mean, Frankly, Craig Porter Jr. Just hasn’t done it before. And the blueprint for this team was Lonzo Ball was in the blueprint. Craig Porter Jr. Was not for playoff rotations. That’s much more niche kind of a thing to watch. But those kind of guys, keep your eye on those kind of guys. Like Chris was saying, the guys who haven’t been themselves, can they get back to themselves in a way that changes the way this team looks on the court, not just in the standings.
Chris Fedor: To the point about Lonzo, I, I Think it’s important to point out what Kenny Atkinson has said over and over and over again. He has said it’s not permanent. He has also said that we might need Lonzo or we believe we’re going to need Lonzo when the playoffs roll around. Now, there’s a problem with that. Both times in the last three weeks that Lonzo has looked playable, even, like, competent. He had multiple games off in between. When you get into the playoffs, you’re playing every other day or every two days. And the question then becomes, in that shortened window for recovery after a high intensity, grueling, physical playoff game, will he recover in time to be effective? Because it just feels like his body needs extra time to recover and his. And he needs to be off his legs for multiple games, multiple days to be the guy that. That he was last night against the 76ers or the guy that he was the other day after he was out of the rotation and then put back into the rotation. So I think part of the whole management plan of Lonzo is how many extra days can we buy him so that he can have extended rest for his body, he can have extended recovery time for his body, which. But when you get into the playoffs, you just don’t have that. The games come so quick. There are practices, there are other things that are going on, travel and stuff like that. So it’s a little bit more condensed, and I just don’t know, like, it’s something that the Cavs have to consider. Like, if this is the management plan for Lonzo, do they just have to go away from him completely? Do they have to trade him at the deadline because he’s just not going to be as effective as they thought he was as a, quote, unquote, playoff performer.
Ethan Sands: Yeah. And I think that’s definitely a conversation that we’ve had on this podcast. Right. Because of his contract, his value across the league, and obviously just what he can bring on the court because he still has assets that the Cavs have seen in games where he’s healthy, where he’s feeling like himself. That can disrupt opposing offenses on the defensive end and then also create, especially for teams in transition. That’s part of the reason why he was so effective in Chicago. It just didn’t pan out because of the injury history while he was there. But the other portion of this is going back to Jimmy’s points about the Cavs stacking wins, going on a longer win streak. 2023, 2024, when Evan Mobley and Darius Garland were injured. Obviously, Darius with The fractured jaw, Evan Mobley with that knee injury as he went and got arthroscopic knee surgery. The Cavs went on two separate eight game win streaks during those periods. But I think the other portion of this, as we’ve alluded to on this podcast, is the amount of games that the Cavs are looking to rest some key players and how Donovan Mitchell is going to be a part of that plan. And how Donovan Mitchell, and we’ve talked about this on, on the podcast as well, how he simply has been asked to do so much more even when there have been players healthy this season. And in part of that, when they talk about the 2023, 2024 season, Jimmy, to your point, Jared Allen stepped up into a bigger role in a big capacity, especially without Evan Mobley being out there. He knew he had to step up. He knew he was going to get more touches and in that same realm, he was getting more involved offensively, which helped him on the defensive end. That’s something that we preached on this podcast at length. So it’s going to be interesting, especially with the management of injuries, the rest period plan that the Cavs have put in place for guys like Lonzo, for Donovan, for Dean Wade, whenever he gets back all of these players, it’s going to be difficult because Kenny Atkinson, and again, this is part of the reason that I’ve been frustrated with his post game messaging has been like, we gotta wait till we’re healthy. Well, Kenny, based on your plan, you’re not going to be healthy because there’s likely going to be rest and there’s going to be injuries alongside those. So you’re going to have to figure out how to find combinations and lineups, as Chris was mentioning, without having everybody available to you. And again, against the Utah Jazz, when Kenny was like, well, we didn’t have Max Druce, we didn’t have Dean Wade. That was the same exact situation last night against the Philadelphia 76ers. And then you didn’t have Darius Garland and Sam Merrill for the second half of the game and you still saw the effort level, the intensity level in that show itself and how that impacted the game. And that’s what we’ve been asking from this Cavs team. Not necessarily who’s available in the talent that they had on the floor.
Chris Fedor: Guys. I also believe that Max Strus is a swing player for this team. I believe that he’s been a swing player for a number of years and I think there are legitimate questions about what version of Max the Cavs are going to get when he finally does recover from this off season foot surgery and he is cleared to make his his season debut, whenever that’s going to be, how healthy is he going to be, how effective is he going to be, how impactful is he going to be, what percentage is he going to be able to play at? What’s it look like when he’s moving around the court, cutting, sprinting off screens, chasing guys around around screens, having to battle inside in the post on switches, having to get in the action on rebounds and stuff like that? The version of Max stru that the Cavs get, whatever version that is, I think is very, very important to monitor. Because if they get a lesser version of Max than what they’ve gotten the last couple of years, then they might have to consider more minutes for Jaylon Tyson. They might have to consider more minutes for DeAndre Hunter. If he figures it out and he returns to the level that a lot of the Cavs people inside this organization were hoping for at the beginning of the year, it might be more minutes for Dean Wade. If he can handle those, if he can handle that kind of workload, if he is healthy around that time, I think there are options that the Cavs have. But Max brings an important element that is different than Jalen, it’s different than DeAndre, it’s different than Dean, and the Cavs need that to function at their highest level. And if he can’t be that kind of player, I think it’s going to be hard for the Cavs to be the kind of team that they ultimately want to be. So I think that’s something that we have to look for in the second half of this season. It’s just what version of Max is. Is there for this team?
Jimmy Watkins: That’s a big question there something that I just thought of, though, as we’re Talking about the 23 and 19 Cleveland Cavaliers resting players, is there any bigger indictment of the NBA regular season than a team who has essentially been in crisis for the first half of the season? Just saying, we gotta load, manage these guys like Adam Silver. You gotta clean this up, man. The good news is the season is too long and the Cavs still have way too many games left. And with those way too many games, they have plenty of time to scratch their way through a disappointing Eastern Conference. The bad news is there’s way too many games, and that contributes to a lack of urgency across the league. Just the idea that a team midway through its season falling so far below its expectations, saying, yeah, we gotta rest, guys.
Chris Fedor: How’s that the playoff picture, by the.
Jimmy Watkins: Way, how’s that up? They’re a playin team. Yeah, playing team. Just not too many. Not too many healthy sports where that’s the case.
Ethan Sands: All right, guys, I want to move on to the next question, but before we do that, we have to get into this injury report for Friday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers. It just dropped and we’re going to cover it really quickly. So the players who are out, of course, Dean Wade is still being sidelined. As Chris reported on yesterday’s podcast, it’s more likely that he makes a return on Monday against Oklahoma City Thunder next. Max Drew is still sidelined. We know that he’s going to take a little bit longer to recover from his left foot surgery. Cavs are going to reevaluate him within the next two to three weeks. We’ll hope to get an update there. The two that are being added to the injury report, as we’ve mentioned on this podcast from the Wednesday contest, Darius Garland and Sam Merrill are also both out for Friday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Sam Merrill is back out with the right hand sprain, the same injury that he had after dealing with Milwaukee Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo trying to deter him from the rim. Now it’s an injury that happened against the Philadelphia 76ers when he was guarding Tyrese Maxey. Now the next one, and probably the biggest one, Darius Garland is being sidelined with with a right great toe soreness. Let me reiterate that it is the right great toe, not the left great toe that he had off season surgery on. So Chris, what have you heard about these two injuries, particularly Darius, and the severity of that? Is it really just soreness or could it be something worse?
Chris Fedor: I haven’t really heard anything. There’s not a lot of certainty, not a lot of clarity on what’s going on with Darius. I reached out to multiple people in the morning, this afternoon as well, and they were just kind of waiting to see. I do think it’s a good sign that it’s labeled soreness, but we thought it was a good sign during the playoffs when he was listed as day to day over and over and over and over again. So I, I just don’t think this organization is very transparent when it comes to injuries. They have their reasons for that. I think they’re wrong on it. But my initial feeling without, you know, having more information, without having an opportunity to see these guys at practice, talk to them or people close to them I’ll probably have an opportunity at shoot around tomorrow, maybe even before the game. But my initial feeling is the fact that it’s being labeled soreness and not something other than that is a positive sign for Darius. But we saw how a toe injury affected him. We saw how a toe injury limited him. We know the kind of player that Darius is. We know what he’s reliant on and when he’s out there. Speed, quickness, change of direction, stop and start. As unfortunate for Darius because he was starting to get back to that level. He was breaking guys down off the dribble. He was racing past them. He, he, he just looked like a guy who had more confident in his movements because he was like, hey, my body’s allowing me to do some of these other things, and I’m fully removed from the surgery and the setback that I had against the Miami Heat in November. So it’s unfortunate for him because, like a lot of the aspects of his game, the things that make him so dynamic and so great, especially on the offensive end of the floor, those were starting to show. And now you say, okay, it’s another toe, it’s the opposite foot. Can he play through it? How effective can he be playing through it? How much of a mental toll is this going to take on him, saying, oh, my God, another toe? Like, what movements can I do? What movements can’t I do? Is my body going to allow me to play through this? Like, all those different things? So when you talk about a player like Darius, whose game is predicated on so many things that require a healthy toe, any kind of injury to the toe you think would affect him in a negative way. He was just getting his best balance back on his jump shots and his floaters and things like that. So a good sign that it’s only toe soreness, but a bad sign because of the kind of player he is and how that could limit him. And with Sam, when I saw him last night in the locker room, it didn’t look like his hand was. Was swollen. It didn’t look like his hand was bruised. But last time this injury happened, the bruising and the swelling happened the next day. Day. And I haven’t seen it today. I haven’t been around him today. I can tell you that when he was leaving the visitors locker room and exiting the arena, he did have the. The same protective black splint on his two fingers, the right index finger and the middle finger, the same thing that he had immediately after he sprained his hand the first time around. So it’s clear that they’re trying the same kinds of treatments. It’s clear that they’re trying the same kinds of protections. But we’ll have a better idea of any of these things when it comes to Friday.
Ethan Sands: And just to continue that point in Chris’s reporting, the last time this injury happened for Sam, he was out for roughly a month, which doesn’t bode well for this, especially knowing his shooting. And he’s always had right hand, right wrist injuries because he’s had them for the last two seasons.
Chris Fedor: He.
Ethan Sands: He’s worn wrist tape since his injury to his wrist in previous years. This is something that can compound. If you’re talking about that part of your body, especially as a player known for your shooting, known for using those actions on a consistent basis, wear and tear can become a thing. But also just overall bruising and pain is something that is hard to play with, especially for the level of intensity that Sam Arrow plays with on the defensive end as well. And we’ve talked about this, him blowing up screens probably more than some other players should, and that led to him getting injured again in this scenario.
Chris Fedor: If there’s a silver lining when it comes to this whole thing with, with Sam, he knows what to do to get it right, because it’s the second time that he’s dealing with this. And immediately when he came back from the sprained hand, he went on this heater where he was just launching and draining threes. So it seemed to be once he actually got the clearance to return to the lineup, it seemed to be an injury that he could still be effective playing through.
Jimmy Watkins: To your point about the mental thing with Darius, I’m going to try to tie these two things together. Your point about the mental part with Darius, With Sam, he’s on.
Ethan Sands: He’s.
Jimmy Watkins: He’s going so well right now. Like, he’s. He’s riding a hot, hot streak. And for that to be interrupted is very frustrating because it sort of can. I mean, I don’t think Sam’s gonna be out for very long, but it can reset the confidence meter. Right? And now the next three shots that Sam Merrill shoots, whenever he shoots them, become more important than they should be, right? And then. And then for Darius, I’ve been framing this a lot as, man, this guy just has so many nagging injuries. Like, can you. Can you really trust him in the. In the big spots? And I think to flip that narrative on its head, like, he’s gotta be feeling a different version of the same thing, right? Can you trust his body? We’ve talked about this before, but with all the starts and stops and setbacks and all the pressure that Darius puts on the front of his feet, now it’s the other, the other foot with a toe. Like hard stops are an occupational hazard for Darius Garland. On the broadcast last night, you’re right to say, Chris, he’s looking closer to normal every day. Now the broadcast last night, they were saying he was like only 70%. Still, that kind of took me aback.
Chris Fedor: Yeah.
Ethan Sands: When.
Jimmy Watkins: When I heard that. Because. Because when he was playing like Minnesota didn’t look 70% to me on Saturday when they were playing Minnesota. So I just feel for the guy and it muddies all the big picture analysis for the Cavs because we know this guy is so important to everything that they do and yet he can’t trust that his own body is is holding up over the course of this season.
Ethan Sands: As you said, Jimmy, the ESPN broadcast reported coming from Darius saying that he was only at 70% with his left great toe and was still working to get back to 100%. This goes back to the portion of authenticity that Chris was mentioning from not only the Cavs organization, but the players themselves. Darius, when we ask him how he’s doing with his toe, since he doesn’t want to answer the questions, when he, his fan does, he tells him exactly where he needs to. That I think it’s interesting. It’s harsh on him. It’s hard for us to get a good read on where he’s at. And the other portion of this, Jimmy, to your point about the mental frustration or the mental potential fear factor of re injuring it, we know what happened after he came back from the fractured jaw. Obviously that was one of the most grueling seasons for Darius Garland for multiple reasons. But when he would go into the driving lane, you could sense that he was being hesitant. And at the beginning of this season it was clear that he was hesitant to drive off of his left foot and maybe counteractively, he was still leaning far more heavily on that right foot for start stops, for side to side movements, all these things. And that potentially weighed into the injury to the right great toe soreness as it’s being classified now. But I want to get into the question from our subtexter coming from Dave in South Euclid who says do you think the injuries Darius Garland is having to his toes may somehow be related to the new balance heavy shoes he wears? It seems weird that he keeps having injuries from what looks like hyperextensions to that area. And I’m not here to start a brand war or anything, but this is an interesting topic to me. Chris, what do you think about the shoe brand, the shoe itself having maybe a portion of what is going on with Darius? We also know he’s been still playing with that toe spacer at times and a steel plate in the front of his shoe to be able to help him with his recovery, it’s still. He’s at 70%.
Chris Fedor: I have absolutely no idea. I have absolutely no opinion on this whatsoever. I think Darius puts a lot of pressure on his feet, the way that he plays. Did Joe Burrow get hurt because of the shoes that he wore? Did Brock Pie get hurt because of the shoes that he wore? Like, is anybody doing a deep dive into Joe Burrow shouldn’t wear J’s? I don’t know. I. I just think Darius, you know, he’s a 6 foot 1 guy who is undersized compared to some of his peers around the NBA and the kind of player that he is, puts a lot of pressure on his toe and on his feet. And every single time he makes a sharp movement, he jams that toe. Every time he tries to shake free from a defender and come off a screen, jams that toe. Every single time he tries to shake loose just to catch an inbound pass so that he can bring the ball up the floor, he jams that toe. I think there are just certain guys who, the way that they’re built and the way that they play, they’re more susceptible to injury. Derrick Rose was more susceptible to injury because he hit the ground over and over and over again. Because, you know, all of the pressure that he put on his leg and his knee because of how bouncy he was and how explosive he was and how dynamic he was and all the spin moves that he was doing and the running that he was doing and stuff like that. Guys that look like Darius, they aren’t supposed to move like this. They’re not supposed to hit the ground as much as Darius does. Like, their body isn’t built to withstand. He’s not LeBron. He doesn’t look like LeBron. You know what I mean? So I just think it’s unfortunate for Darius, but injuries have followed him since his first year in college. It was a big question about Darius when he came into the NBA. What kind of risk do you want to take on this guy? His size, his stature, his playstyle. Can he hold up physically? Can he hold up physically when he gets into the NBA? And, you know, so much of his game is predicated on Speed and quickness and change of direction and stop and start and stuff like that. So to me, I’ll look more at those kinds of things because I think the data can potentially support that. Then I will look at, at New Balance. I can’t speak on New Balance. I’ve never worn a New Balance shoe in my life.
Jimmy Watkins: Here’s what I would say about all this. I think if Darius Garland thought that New Balance shoes were affecting this, this situation, he would stop wearing New Balance shoes, endorsement deals be damned. I don’t know what kind of shoes he was wearing at Vanderbilt. This is the first time hearing that he wears New Balances. Now maybe that’s a failure of, of me as a, as, as an observer of basketball as a. And not a sneaker head. So there you go. I won’t even call it a failure as a sneaker head, as a detail oriented reporter. It could be a failure of mine. But I’m watching the basketball out there and I think that I’ll reiterate the one thing confidently that I can say about this is if Darius Garland thought his shoes was hurting his ability to stay durable, he would stop wearing the shoes.
Ethan Sands: Just for reference, Jimmy, Evan Mobley wears Anthony Edwards shoes.
Jimmy Watkins: If you didn’t know, should you wear other players shoes? That’s another topic. Let’s, let’s have a, let’s have a whole different podcast about that.
Ethan Sands: Hey, and he wore them against Ant. And there was a conversation between the two. Anthony was like, hey, you better, you better wear my shoe when I play against you. Anyway, fun things. Some things that I pay attention to anyway.
Chris Fedor: Terry Maxey wears New Balance shoes. And I don’t think he’s had any toe problems to this point in his career. He’s had other problems, other injuries that have sidelined him, but he hasn’t had turf toe. Jaren Jackson Jr. Is another person in the NBA that had turf toe. I don’t think he was wearing New Balance at the time.
Jimmy Watkins: Also, Darius, if I’m not mistaken, these maxi Kawhi Shohei Ohtani commercials. Haven’t seen it. Can we get. Is he.
Ethan Sands: He’s in there, Jimmy. Maybe it’s very brief. It’s very brief, but he’s in there.
Jimmy Watkins: I think he was just so numb to, to the, to those commercials because it’s one of those commercials that they play 75 times a broadcast. And I just hear Shohei Ohtani say New Balance we got now or whatever in the background. I’m like, okay, it’s over. I can look up now.
Ethan Sands: Yeah, I Think that’s fair. Darius sits next to Maxi on bleachers. But anyway, and to your point, Chris, and we talked about Joe Burrow. In comparison, Joe Burrow wears Nike. So it doesn’t necessarily have to do with the brand.
Chris Fedor: Darius, if he’s gone to. What is the name of the place? Fleet Feet. Is that the name of the place? The running shoe place in Westlake and other places in Northeast Ohio? Because I never knew this until I went there. They did the biomechanics on my feet when I was looking for running shoes, and one of my feet, like, it’s seven inches of difference. It was just like, oh, my God, what an epiphany. That there was one foot that I continued to hurt that ankle over and over and over and over and over and over again when I played basketball as a youth. Because you don’t buy, like, one shoe as a half size and then another shoe as a full size. But based on the biomechanics of my feet, when I’ve got one that’s 112 and 11 9, size 12 is not going to help that one foot that’s 11 2. There’s too much room in there. So I was like, oh, that’s why I sprained my ankle so much. That’s why I nearly broke it multiple times. I wasn’t wearing the right size shoe. Maybe he’s not wearing the right size shoe. Or maybe he’s got feet that are two sizes that are different from each other.
Jimmy Watkins: I don’t know. It’s so funny the way we. We have. Now we have that where we can measure.
Chris Fedor: Yes.
Jimmy Watkins: All of the. By down to the inch. What you’re. What’s going on with your foot. Whereas before, when you’re a kid, your mom just puts her thumb at the top of the shoe and you go, can you feel this?
Chris Fedor: Yes.
Jimmy Watkins: All right, we’re good.
Chris Fedor: We’ve got a good space there.
Jimmy Watkins: $120 investment. We’re good.
Chris Fedor: Yes. I learned that with my son. I was like, elliot, stand on this white piece of paper. I’m going to make one mark in black marker at the top of your foot and one mark in black marker at the back of your foot. And then I’m going to take a tape measure, and I’m going to measure that, and I’m going to estimate what size shoe you need.
Ethan Sands: Hey, there’s so many things we’re learning about each other on this podcast. I love it. Learning about Darius Garland, learning about Sam Merrow. And this goes back to the original point that we were making earlier on into the podcast is that this many players out, the Cavs are going to be without again. Darius Garland, Sam Merrill, Max Stru and Dean Wade. That’s four rotational pieces that the Cavs would have liked to have at the start of the season. How does Kenny Atkinson make lineups, make rotations, make combinations that are best suited for who they’re going up against on Friday night against the Philadelphia 76ers? And Joel Embiid is probable, Paul George is probable, Kelly Oubre is available. And those are the main ones. When you talk about who the Cavs are going to be going up against, I think it’s going to be important for Jared Allen and Evan Mobley to still play to the caliber that they did. Evan Mobley stacking the performances, Jared Allen deterring Joellen Bede, who was, I bet you going to come back with a vengeance wanting to get at Jared Allen for his performance against him on Wednesday. I just think there’s nuance to the conversations when we talk about the personnel that creates an identity and also an identity that should not be contingent on the personnel that you have on the floor.
Chris Fedor: True. But I’m implementing a rule for Friday’s podcast. We are not allowed to talk about how terrible the bench plays. We’re not. Because when you lose your starting point guard and somebody from the bench has to move into the starting lineup, that is going to thin out your bench. That’s going to make your bench worse. And then if you take another component, the most reliable component off of that bench, which is Sam Merrill, then all of a sudden guy number 11 in the rotation has to be guy number eight or nine. And guy number 11 is not as good as Sam Merrill. And this could mean that the Cavs might have to call on Lonzo without the four or five days of rest that his body has been getting. So the rule for Friday’s podcast is we’re not allowed to talk about how terrible the bench plays.
Jimmy Watkins: I think there’s a lesson there at large for the fan base here because the Cavs are giving you a roller coaster to ride when you’re doing a podcast after every game. Like, you have to react to what just happened, right?
Chris Fedor: Yeah.
Jimmy Watkins: But if you, if you care about your sanity, maybe just try to take a bigger worldview right now. Like right now. I think the vibes generally, generally over the last 10 days, pretty good. Did they also lose to one of the worst teams in the NBA at home during that stretch? Yes, they did, and we rightly roasted them for that. But you don’t go with that dip. Don’t dip with the team. Just go, hmm, that sucked. Hope they do better the next day. Like, if you ride the wave with this team, you’re going to be yanking your hair out.
Ethan Sands: How do they respond without having many players that they would like to have on the floor, especially after a good win on Wednesday? And that’s what we’ve been talking about. Responding to adversity, the necessary efforts, intensity, energy. Y’ all are going to get sick of hearing me say those three words when it comes to this podcast because of that’s what they’re going to need to play with. Maybe it makes them play a little harder because they know they don’t have the talents that they were going to have coming into the contest. But let’s do this one last exercise before we get out of here. Chris, Jimmy, does Craig Porter Jr. And Jaylon Tyson get the start in tomorrow’s game?
Chris Fedor: I think Jaylon Tyson will undecided on Craig. Cause I think it depends on like how much Kenny believes he can actually play Lonzo. I don’t think it’ll be DeAndre. They could go Naquan and move Donovan.
Ethan Sands: To the point guard, the back to point guard spot.
Chris Fedor: I mean, if you’re going into the game with a plan of my. My primary ball handlers are going to be Craig and Donovan, then you want to split those guys up. But if you’re going into it saying, we believe Lonzo will be effective, we’re going to put him back in the rotation, then you have three ball handler options and then you can get away with Craig Porter Jr. Going in the starting lineup next to Donovan.
Ethan Sands: That’s my thought process because they did play Lonzo and he was effective on Wednesday. So I think that Kenny would give him another shot and that’s why I would think they would keep him coming off the bench to also continue monitoring his minutes. Especially when you talk about him not getting the adequate rest that he has in recent games when he has been effective. As Chris has mentioned on this podcast today.
Chris Fedor: Yeah, I don’t think it’s the debate between Lonzo and Craig and which one of those guys goes in the starting lineup. It’s do you put Craig in the starting lineup or do you just move Donovan to point guard and then shuffle the other spots within that particular lineup? Would not surprise me. It would not surprise me off the top of my head if they went with Donovan at the point, Jalen at the two and then Naquan at the three next to Evan and Jarrett Phillies long Phillies Athletic. I wouldn’t rule that out, although I haven’t heard anything of that.
Jimmy Watkins: I’d say Craig starts because you don’t have Darius. You need absolutely need Donovan to anchor the bench unit and so you’re going to want to take some of the mileage off him when he’s playing with the starters. There’s my two.
Ethan Sands: I agree with that. I think the other portion of that is I think Donovan needs someone to get downhill like Craig Porter Jr. Can and get to the paint and create from the middle of the court or create crack from the elbow and free throw line extended. All these things. I think that’s why, because Donovan is better off and also his mileage is going to be better off if he’s not the one that has to get to the lane, get to create from there and still be off the ball. Because we know that’s when Donovan plays at his best. But what do we know? We’ll find out and we’ll see how the Cavs play and we’ll be back with you guys after Friday night’s contest. Give you our reaction. And as Chris said, we won’t roast the bench depending on how they play. Or we could give them a lot of praise depending on how it goes. But with all that being said, that’ll wrap up today’s episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast. But remember to become the Cavs insider and interact with Chris, me and Jimmy by subscribing to Subtext. Want to hear your questions on the podcast? Podcast? Want to get your shout out on the podcast? This is the only way to do so. Sending in your questions to Subtext and the only way to get that is signing up for a 14 day free trial or visiting cleveland.comcavs and clicking on the blue bar at the top of the page. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. All you have to do is text the word stop. It’s easy, but we can tell you that the people who sign up stick around because this is the best way to get insider coverage on the cast from me, Chris and Jimmy. This isn’t just our podcast, it’s your podcast. And the only way to have your voice heard is through some text. Y’ all be safe. We out.