The Cleveland Cavaliers are taking on the Miami Heat on the road for their Game 3 contest of the first-round series in the Eastern Conference.
More NBA news: Cavaliers’ Guard Darius Garland Shockingly Ruled Out for Game 3 Against Heat
The Cavaliers will look to go up 3-0 in the series and pretty much put the Heat to bed. However, the Cavaliers will be without their All-Star guard Darius Garland. Garland is out for Game 3 due to a toe injury.
The Cavaliers will be without their star guard, who has dealt with a toe issue for quite some time. It appeared ot be too much for Garland to handle, which then led to the Cavs sitting him out.
The severity of the injury is unclear to the public, but that didn’t stop NAB Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley from calling out Garland for missing Saturday’s game due to his injury.
Charles Barkley calls out Darius Garland “You gotta be kidding me right? You don’t say that. You gotta play”(h/t @ohnohedidnt24 ) pic.twitter.com/alBjxgObXp
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 26, 2025
“You gotta be kidding me, right? You don’t say that. You gotta play,” said Barkley.
Garland will miss his first playoff game of this postseason. The hope is, at least for the Cavaliers, that this toe issue is not as serious, and a game of rest will do wonders for it moving forward.
The Cavaliers entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. They finished the regular season with a stellar 64-18 record, a .780 win percentage. They averaged 121.9 points per game, and much of it was due to the play of Garland.
He was spectacular for Cleveland all season long, playing in 75 games, where he averaged 20.6 points per game, 6.7 assists, and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from three in 30.7 minutes of action.
Garland has been terrific in the series, averaging 24.0 points per game, 7.0 assists, and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal have developed a reputation for taking shots at today’s NBA players, often finding ways to criticize or poke fun at them. It’s become a regular occurrence on the “NBA on TNT” show, and over time, many fans and players alike have grown tired of the routine.
Nonetheless, they ultimately do not care how others view them when it comes to criticizing players. After the 2024-25 season, NBA games will no longer air on TNT, as the league has finalized a new 11-year media rights deal with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video.
Despite the change, TNT’s beloved studio show, *Inside the NBA“, will live on, continuing to air on ESPN and ABC, with TNT Sports remaining in charge of its production.
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