Darius Garland is the key to success for the Cavalier offense. He unlocks so much for the team, whether that be in the pick in roll with Center Jarrett Allen or the team's resident do-it-all man Larry Nance jr. or finding an open shooter on the perimeter or even spotting a cutter when the defense collapses on him. He is able to keep the ball moving when the offense stagnates and the difference in ball movement when he is out of the lineup or on the bench is tremendous. Make no mistake, Collin Sexton is the team's go to bucket getter, but this team will go as far as Garland is able to lead them. His impact on the floor is that important.
Why he's so important
This offense is can produce highlights, as seen by Collin Sexton's recent 36 point outburst in a win over the Toronto Raptors, sending them home with their eighth straight loss. Garland played a vital role in that in as well chipping in 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 timely assists. And that's not even mentioning Dean Wade's stellar play (16 pts ) off the bench. But far too often this Cavs offense can be stagnate and be devoid of creativity. Take Cleveland's last game for instance, a 119-105 loss to the Sacramento Kings, in which the team looked fatigued and out of sorts. Playing on the second night of a back to back can be both physically and mentally demanding but in a situation like that, which most of the league has been faced with during this truncated season, you must find ways to spread the ball around and create. Garland had a pedestrian night by his ever-growing standards. He managed 17 points on 6-15 shooting but only dished 2 assists on the night which was well below his team leading 5.8 per game average.
This followed three straight games in which Garland logged 6 or more assists. Cleveland went 2-1 in those contests beating the Raptors and Boston Celtics. To take it a step further, The Cavs are 10-7 in games that DG dishes 6 or more dimes. That may seem unimpressive at first glance but consider the fact that this team has only won a grand total of 16 games all season and it could change your view point on the matter. As mentioned before, Garland gets the ball moving in ways the perhaps no other Cavalier player can. His vision has improved by leaps and bounds compared to his injury riddled rookie season. You can visibly see him scanning the floor in order to find an open man or rim roller like in this clip at the 0:16 mark:
This may seem like just a simple alley-oop but i'm honestly not sure if any other player on the roster save backup PG Matthew Dellavedova could make this play look so routine. DG is a pass-first PG, which the team sorely needed heading into the 2019 NBA Draft. His fit next to back court running mate Collin Sexton will always be called into question by spectators and coaches alike due to both players lack of size. With both only listed at 6-1, this will continue to be a consistent question until the duo can prove they can lead the Cavs to the playoffs and beyond. What can't be questioned however is the duo's natural fit for each other. As previously stated, DG is a pass-first PG and seeks to find the open man. Sexton is more of a scoring guard in the sense that while he can be a playmaker at times, he naturally tends to take it upon himself to score. That's not to say that Garland isn't offensively talented, he just doesn't look to score as often. His offensive arsenal is increasing as he can hit a reliable pull up jumper and his three point percentage is now up to around 40%. If you are looking at DG's impact through an analytical lens, Cleveland's offensive rating with Garland off the court is 104.2 as opposed to 107.7 with him on. That's +3.5 for those who are keeping track. His mere presence on the court is that important.
What is his ceiling?
At this point in his career that is a hard question to answer. We have seen point guards his size have very successful careers. We've also seen them flame out rather quickly. What we do know is that he is trending upward. Just take a look at his first and second year averages:
Year 1: 12.3 Pts | 1.9 Reb | 3.9 Ast FG: 40% and 35% from deep
Year 2: 16.4 Pts | 2.2 Reb | 5.8 Ast FG: 44% and 39.5% from deep
He's shown growth in nearly every statistical category and the ol' eye test points toward fringe All-Star status at some point in the near future. Hear me out, Darius Garland could become the league's next Mike Conley. A PG many fans, players, and coaches alike have a deep respect for. Conley just made his first career All-Star appearance but he certainly could've been made more if the guard position wasn't so deep in today's NBA. The Jazz guard stands at 6-1 just like Garland and has a similar build. He wasn't asked to score much in his earlier years but overtime he developed into quite the scorer. By year 4 Conley was putting up averages of 13.7 Pts 6.5 Ast and could really steal the ball as he averaged 1.8 stl per game that season. Garland is already averaging more points and isn't too far behind in assists as well not to mention the fact that he a better defender than given credit for with an average of 1.1 stl. I fully expect DG to become a good defender and at his diminutive size he must become at least an average defender or forced being manhandled as many of his peers at the position stand 6'3" or taller. Bottom line, Garland is the leader of this team and i'm truly excited to see what the future holds for this young core as they are able to grow together organically.
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