Cleveland Cavaliers Injury Report (Dec 27): Latest update on Darius Garland and Caris LeVert's availability

Darius Garland will not be participating in the Cleveland Cavaliers' game against the Dallas Mavericks in Texas. He is still recovering from a broken jaw, which he sustained by running into a screen from Kristaps Porzingis during a recent loss to the Boston Celtics.

However, the Cavaliers could be in line for a potential boost by having Caris LeVert available. He is questionable heading into the game, as is Donovan Mitchell. Still, Cleveland will also be missing Evan Mobley and Ty Jerome, while Sam Merril is doubtful to participate.

Without Garland in the rotation, the Cavaliers lack a primary ball-handler with elite processing speed to help create a steady flow of offense in the half-court. Garland is a talented playmaker who generates offense for himself and others off the dribble, running transition, or as a pick-and-roll creator in a two-man game.

As such, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be relying on Mitchell (assuming he's cleared to play) to lead the way against Dallas. Mitchell is an elite scorer at the NBA level and can generate playmaking opportunities due to his scoring gravity. He can also knock down his shots across all three levels and will be a significant scoring threat whenever he's on the court.

Max Strus will also have a big role to play for Cleveland. His addition this summer has provided high-level floor spacing, which stretches out opposing defenses, creating additional driving lanes for Mitchell to exploit. Furthermore, Strus is a reliable release valve whenever the defense collapses, allowing Mitchell to kick the rock out and trust the catch-and-shoot three will fall.

The Cleveland Cavaliers should be a playoff team

Despite dealing with multiple injury issues throughout the season, the Cleveland Cavaliers currently sit seventh in the NBA's Eastern Conference. As such, they are residing in a play-in tournament space, with roughly two-thirds of the season remaining.

Once their roster is back to full strength and their key contributors are all healthy, the Cavaliers should have enough talent to crack the top six in the East. However, given the top-end talent in the conference, it's unlikely Cleveland has enough talent and experience to make a deep push into the postseason.

The Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers are all on a different level to Cleveland this season. Furthermore, the development of the Orlando Magic has made them a legitimate threat in the East, and that could see Cleveland being forced to qualify for the postseason via the play-in.

Regardless of how they get there, a healthy Cleveland Cavaliers team should have more than enough talent to be a playoff team this season.