Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell Left Off NBA's Top Duos Ranking
The early 2010’s was the era of the "big three" when each contender tried to assemble a trio of the top players in the NBA onto one team. Now we're in the age of "dynamic duos" and it feels like every team has a paring that could fall under this designation.
Bleacher Report put together a list of their top duos in the NBA and there is certainly room for some debate. This was the ranking:
- Nikola Jokic - Jamal Murray
- Giannis Antetokounmpo - Damian Lillard
- Kevin Durant - Devin Booker
- LeBron James - Anthony Davis
- Luka Doncic - Kyrie Irving
- Jayson Tatum - Jaylen Brown
- Kawhi Leonard - Paul George
- Stephen Curry - Draymond Green
- Jimmy Butler - Bam Adebayo
- Joel Embiid - James Harden
There are two players that Cleveland Cavaliers fans will immediately realize they are neglecting. That is the backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell.
How they were not included in this is beyond me.
The duo played in 59 games together averaging 25.1 minutes per game when on the floor at the same time. Together, Garland and Mitchell had an offensive rating of 117.7 and averaged 60.3 points per game while shooting 50.6 percent from the floor.
Feb 11, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) and guard Darius Garland (10) celebrate after the Cavaliers beat the Chicago Bulls at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
© Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Having pairings such as Jokic-Murray, Giannis-Lillard, and even Doncic-Iriving over Cleveland's tandem makes sense. However, the production that Garland and Mitchell provide on the floor feels much more impactful and reliable than the George-Leonard duo and a case could be made for Curry-Green too.
If anything the Cavaliers pairing should be at least 10 considering Embiid-Harden may not even play many games with each other this season.
Garland and Mitchell may not be getting the respect that they deserve, but this could be bulletin board material used to prove the doubters wrong.
