Darius Garland has been sidelined for the last four games of the playoffs due to a sprained toe, and ESPN’s commentator Stephen A. Smith expressed little sympathy for his condition. In the second matchup of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ initial playoff series, which resulted in a sweep over the Miami Heat, Garland contributed 21 points and nine assists over 32 minutes. However, he exacerbated his injury to his left big toe towards the end of that game and hasn’t appeared on the court since.<\/p>\n
As the Cavaliers currently trail 0-2 against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Smith voiced his opinions on the ESPN show First Take<\/em> on Wednesday morning. He emphasized the urgency for Garland to return to play, pointing out that teammate Donovan Mitchell is in dire need of support.<\/p>\n Stephen A. Smith was quite blunt in his remarks, as captured in a tweet from First Take<\/em>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n“You’re on the brink of elimination. … Limp yo ass out there no matter which way you got to do it.”<\/p>\n \u2014@stephenasmith<\/a> on Darius Garland’s toe injury pic.twitter.com\/xYnZmp9gQJ<\/a>\n<\/p>\n