DARIUS Garland

Garland appeared in 45 games for the Clippers last season, averaging 29.9 minutes, 18.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.0 steal and 0.2 blocks, with 2.9 turnovers a night. He shot 46.0 percent from the field, 39.6 percent from three and 86.1 percent from the line, good for a true shooting mark of 58.2 percent on a usage rate of 26.6 percent. His plus-minus for the season sat at 1.9. That full-season line is the baseline fans have to measure his early 2026-27 games against, and it was all produced in a Clippers uniform.

Garland is not on the injury report right now, and there is no injury history on file for him. At 26 years old and in his seventh season out of Vanderbilt, he is listed at 6-1 and 192 pounds, wearing No. 10 for the Clippers as a guard. Clean health to open a season matters for a lead guard who logs heavy minutes when healthy, and right now there is nothing holding him back on the injury side. That makes the minutes question from his first three games purely a usage decision, not a health one, based on what is on file.

Garland's final stretch of last season had some big nights mixed with quieter ones. He had 22 points, 1 rebound and 4 assists in a win over Dallas on April 7, a plus-minus of 22.0. Five days earlier he managed just 11 points in a loss to San Antonio, finishing at minus-19.0. He had 20 points against Portland in a March 31 loss and, two games before that, 15 points with 11 assists in a win over Milwaukee on March 29. He also posted 17 points in a win over Sacramento on April 5 and 16 points in a 40.5-minute effort against Portland on April 10.

Garland's name turned up in a Clippers Notes roundup dated October 5, grouped together with Hachimura, Wagler, Sanders, Strus and Beal. No specific report or rumor beyond that grouping has surfaced. A separate Pacific Notes column from Kelly Iko, dated September 6, covered Clippers-related items involving Simmons, Buss and D. Green, but that item did not name Garland directly. For now, his situation is about playing time and production on the floor rather than anything in the rumor mill.