Darius Garland injury: Cavaliers receive unfortunate update on Cleveland guard's jaw injury

Darius Garland will be sidelined for several weeks after an accidental clash with Kristaps Porzingis on Thursday night during the Cavaliers' road game. Early in the third quarter, Garland looked to drive to the paint, initiating contact with Porzingis. He then fell to the ground holding his face. While many thought he was trying to draw a foul, the situation is more serious.

Despite managing to play 36 minutes, contributing 19 points and two steals in the Cavaliers' 116-107 loss, he will now be sidelined for several weeks. According to a report from The Athletic, Garland suffered a fractured jaw in the collision.

The news is a major blow to the Cavaliers, who currently sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a 13-12 record. During that time, Darius Garland has been somewhat inconsistent, averaging a career-low from downtown, and the fewest assists per game since his rookie year.

While the hope was that Donovan Mitchell would be able to give the young Cavaliers core the push they needed to be contenders, that hasn't been the case. Last season, the team finished with a 51-31 record that saw them enter the playoffs with the No. 4 seed, however, they wound up being eliminated in the first round.

Looking at Darius Garland and the Cleveland Cavaliers' struggles this season

As previously mentioned, the Cleveland Cavaliers currently sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, sitting just behind the Brooklyn Nets. While they remain 2.5 games ahead of the Toronto Raptors in 10th place, depending on how long Darius Garland is out, the team may be in for a rough patch.

With the Thursday loss to the Celtics, which marked their second straight loss to their Eastern Conference Rivals, the Cavs are now on a three-game skid. NBA insider Steve Bulpett of Heavy quoted an anonymous league source as saying:

"I have no idea what the hell is going on there ... but it ain't good."

That same anonymous exec was quoted by Bulpett after the Cavaliers were eliminated from last year's playoffs as saying the team has real talent. Despite that, the source pointed out that the team didn't seem to have trust in one another.

While many, like Donovan Mitchell, believed that it would simply take time before the team hit its stride, now there is concern that it could fall out of Play-In contention. With Darius Garland sidelined for several weeks, things could get tougher for the Cavs before they get better.