Cleveland Cavaliers' Darius Garland Should Be Fired Up After New Ranking

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland should be fired up about his new low ranking.

May 15, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) drives the ball against Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) in the first quarter during game five of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers opted to keep point guard Darius Garland this offseason despite the many trade rumors that surrounded him.

Garland is still a key part of the future for the Cavaliers. However, a new ranking has been released that saw him very low on the list of point guards around the NBA.

In a new list ranking all point guards in the NBA by HoopsHype, Garland was ranked No. 17. That ranking should not sit well with him.

Here is one piece of what they had to say about Garland:

"All in all, Garland still has loads of talent as a slippery scorer with good shooting touch from the outside and solid playmaking chops, he just might be hindered for the foreseeable future by playing alongside the ball-dominant Mitchell."

At 24 years old, Garland hasn't even reached the prime of his career just yet. He is still in the developmental phase of his career.

During the 2023-24 NBA season, he ended up playing in 57 games. He averaged 18.0 points per game to go along with 6.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals. In addition to those averages, Garland shot 44.6 percent from the floor overall and knocked down 37.1 percent of his three-point attempts.

There is some truth to HoopsHype's take about Mitchell being ball-dominant. That can limit a point guard like Garland, who could be much more effective with the ball in his hands.

However, with the young point guard's ability to shoot the basketball, he should be able to use Mitchell to his advantage.

It will be interesting to see what the 2024-25 NBA season has in store for Garland. Clearly, Cleveland is still very high on him and expects him to develop even more. If he can do that, the Cavaliers will be a much more dangerous contender in the Eastern Conference.

For now, Garland should use this low ranking as a little extra motivation to work hard to improve for the upcoming year.