“Pick on Tyler Herro,” Darius Garland told the media after winning Game 2 on Wednesday. His logic was simple: target the “weak defender.” But, you know what? Those Basketball Gods have funny tricks they like pulling up. Talk too loudly, and they make sure you hear them back. Swagger too early, and they’ll humble you fast. And this time, the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard has fallen into the trap of those gods.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have ruled out Darius Garland from Game 3 vs. the Miami Heat on Saturday! Surely, Kaseya Center was waiting for the star to walk into the arena to ‘defend’ Herro. But as of now, the great toe sprain will keep him benched at South Beach. His dreams of a 3-0 record seem to be in jeopardy now.

Meanwhile, basketball legends Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley hit Garland with their fiery jabs on TNT. “You’re kidding me, right?” Chuck kept asking when they were informed that the 25-year-old All-Star guard wouldn’t play on Saturday. “Well, first of all, you don’t say that,” Barkley said of Darius Garland‘s comment on Tyler Herro. Shaq intervenes, “Yeah, you do.” In response, Chuck says, “No, you don’t. You can say it, but you’ve got to play.”

Charles Barkley further noted: “Well, you said, but you’re gonna make sure you go. He didn’t go to guard Tyler Herro. And that’s a Tyler Herro. Is he not? He may not be a great defender, but he had 34 points.” Herro chipped in 34 points in Game 2, but sadly, the Miami Heat lost the game to the Cavs. “Yeah, you don’t act like he’s a bomb,” the legend added. Meanwhile, Shaq took his jab to the next level and expressed, “You can say it, but you shouldn’t say it. Like you should never reveal your game plan. Because now, you know, Miami is a defensive-minded team.”

The Miami Heat have some of the toughest defenders in the league. Players like Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, and Davion Mitchell guard the rim like their lives depend on it. “Everybody’s going to be on those. They’re going to be up on you, get by you, Bam is going to be it. So you know, you shouldn’t have said it. But when you do say it, you’ve got to play and back it up. Sprained toe, hold on, sprained toe, go to Walgreens and get some Icy Hot toe socks,” Shaq taunted.

Shaq was downplaying the injury; he’s seemingly suggesting that a sprained toe isn’t serious. He taunted that Darius Garland could just grab some quick pain relief (Icy Hot socks from Walgreens) and be fine, poking fun at how “soft” today’s players can seem compared to his era. Meanwhile, Cavs head coach, Kenny Atkindon, stepped in to silence more controversies. Surely, he doesn’t want the attention to divert from their game to the words of his player.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ head coach issues statement after Darius Garland’s comment on Tyler Herro

In the most unfortunate turn of events, the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to miss Darius Garland on the floor on Saturday. Will the game become difficult against the fierce Heat? Well, that is a possibility that needs to be monitored. However, the heat off the court that’s developing because of Garland’s “Pick on Tyler Herro” statement needed an ultimatum. This is where Kenny Atkinson stepped in. However, this truly cannot be tagged as an ‘ultimatum’ but more of a damage control, amidst all the taunts.

“I don’t control what they say at all. From our perspective, we have great respect for the Heat. … Tyler is a great player, he’s an All-Star,” Coach Kenny clarified to the media ahead of Game 3 at Kaseya Center. At the same time, the veteran coach feels the storyline is “overblown.” 

In the end, fate played its own game, and TNT legends made sure Garland felt it. Instead of picking on Tyler Herro, he picked a seat on the bench, with jabs flying from Shaq and Chuck. Nevertheless, the Cavaliers must rise without their floor general. After all, the playoffs leave no room for unfinished battles.