Cavaliers Want Star Guard Shooting This Many Three Pointers A Game

Kenny Atkinson reveals he wants Darius Garland shooting ten three-pointers a game for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Nov 30, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) shoots in the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

Seven games into the new season, and the Cleveland Cavaliers have established themselves as one of the top teams in the NBA to start the season. They've not lost a game and have been blowing out their competition in historic fashion.

One of the reasons for this is the strong play by Darius Garland, who looks like a completely different player. New Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson gave a little insight on what they're looking for from DG on any given night.

"He's playing with swag. He's got that floater going, too, but he also took nine threes. We need one more, we need ten. That was kind of the deal with him - ten a game. But he's also getting [the shots] where he's running to the corner ... Great shooter. Great player. He's playing really well."

Oct 28, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) reacts during the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images

Long range shooting has always been a strength of DG, even when he was just a draft prospect out of Vanderbilt. However, he's never averaged more than 6.7 threes a game until this season, where Garland is putting up 7.0 a game through the first seven games.

Atkinson has clearly made it a point of emphasis to get Garland in a position where he can shoot more threes and so far that's been success in a small sample size. He's shooting 43 percent from behind the arc which, if it can stay consistent, would be a career-high for Garland.

We'll see if DG can reach the ten three-pointers and games Atkinson wants from him at some point this season. He's gotten close already, attempting nine against the Orlando Magic and eight against the New York Knicks.

Garland is only playing an average of 27.2 minutes a game to start the season because of Celveland's wide margin of victory.

The Cavs need to have DG playing at an All-Star level if they're going to make a deep playoff run this season. So far, that's what we've seen from the point guard, but Atkinson still thinks there is another level he can reach with more shot attempts.